What Baking Can Do
by Misty7books
Summary: It's seven months since the introduction to Paris' superheroes, and they still don't know the identity of the other. However, that will all change when their school informs them that a singing competition will be taking place. Will they finally find out? Updates are on my profile!
1. Monday

_**Chapter 1:**_ __ _ **(2074 words)**_

' _Oh, god. I'm late again!'_ Marinette though as she ran across the street to her school, knowing that she's cutting it very close this time.

' _Stupid akuma, making me stay up 'til four in the morning,'_ she shook her head as she ran up the steps to the doors. _'I hope I'm not late! My attendance has been horrible ever since I became Ladybug, since I'm sleep deprived and akumas sometimes show up when I'm walking to school.'_

Luckily, she made it just in time since the bell rang loudly as she sat down and pulled out everything she needs for the day.

"Girl, that was a close one!" Alya laughed.

"I know, I know, _'I'm always late'_ ," she blushed, embarrassed with her difficulty in turning up on time. She hoped that Adrien wouldn't tell her anything about it.

"Yeah, Nette, I'm surprised you haven't gotten detention yet," Nino turned his head to speak to her. Her friends each had a different nickname for her. Alya just called her _'girl',_ Nino called her _'Nette'_ and Adrien called her _'Mari'._

"To be honest, me too. Maybe they're taking sympathy on the students who are late because of all of the morning akumas?" she questioned, changing the subject sneakily.

Before Alya could rant about how amazing Ladybug and Chat Noir are, their teacher walked in, silencing the talkative class.

" _Bonjour,_ students. The headmaster has informed all teachers to tell their students that there will be a singing competition taking place in three weeks' time-"

Before the teacher's speech could be finished, Chloe loudly boasted, "Well I'm obviously the best singer here, I'm definitely going to win."

The teacher sighed, shook her head and continued. "First auditions will take place on Monday next week. Any questions?"

Marinette's hand was up in the air in milliseconds, surprising everyone. Even though she was very confident and social sometimes, most of the time, she was shy and never put her hand up. She seemed to have forgotten about that this time though.

"Professor?"

"Yes, Marinette?"

"Is the competition about a specific type of music or will any kind be allowed?" Her voice was crystal clear and the confident edge of her voice rendered the room silent.

They had expected her to stutter or to whisper quietly like she always does. _'Ha! Not this time, I need to know if I can sing Broadway or Disney songs. Those are the ones I'm best at after all.'_

After a few seconds of silence, the teacher realised that her jaw had dropped open. She quickly shut it and responded, "Well, Marinette. It is about songs from musicals. This can include any musical, such as Disney movies, or Broadway shows."

Marinette politely nodded her head and ducked her head down, and replied, "Thank you, ma'am."

Though on the inside, she was squealing and fangirling like crazy, happy to be singing some of her favourite songs and getting recognised for it.

"Uhh… any more questions?" the teacher asked, still dazed by the confidence of the shy little girl who rarely puts her hand up.

Nino lifted up his hand slowly, unsure of his question, "Uh, ma'am?"

"Yes, Nino?"

"Can we do these in groups or do they have to be on your own?"

"Good question, Nino. For the auditions on Monday, you will have to sing a song on your own. Those who get through can sing alone, in pairs or in groups on the Monday in two weeks' time, and those who pass that will compete on the Monday in three weeks' time like they did the second time but with a different song."

He nodded but Madame Bustier continued to speak, "This information will all be in a pamphlet that will be given out later on today. I'm just telling you now for you all to get a head start in picking your song. Any other questions?"

When no more hands were raised, the teacher simply nodded and began to teach the lesson they were supposed to be having at the moment, French Literature.

Adrien was… confused.

He had never seen Marinette act like that.

Well, sure, he had seen her stand up to Chloe, looking furious and speaking sharp sentences at the spoiled girl, no stuttering involved, though she was usually in a rage and it takes a lot of Chloe being… well, _Chloe,_ to get her to confront her in front of others.

He had seen her leading their class since she was class president, and she was confident then. She reminded him a little bit of Ladybug, taking leadership and responsibility for the sake of others.

Usually, she was shy as hell, and tried to avoid answering questions in lessons and whenever she spoke to him, she always looked nervous and stuttered like crazy. She must still be mad about the first day he came here, when she thought that he put some chewing gum on her chair. He'll have to make it up to her someday.

This time though, there was no rage, and there was no one for her to do it for. She just seemed purely excited to… sing.

He had never heard her sing. Come to think of it, he had never heard Ladybug sing either. Her voice must be purr-fect, like the rest of her, right?

Sometimes, which is supposed to be read as 'always', he wonders who she could be under the mask. He never wastes a chance to ask her that very thought. She'd always respond with the same old, _'I would tell you, Chaton, but it would risk us more if we knew each other's identities, and I don't want to see you get hurt.'_

He sighed.

It was a good reason, but he couldn't help his curiosity.

He decided to focus more on the lesson. If he received bad marks, his father would most definitely pull him out of public school, and he really didn't want that.

He had friends here, for once.

He had Nino, his best friend, and Alya, who he didn't know much about, though they still talked and hung out together, and he counted her as a friend.

Then there was Marinette. He wanted to be her friend; she was so sweet and she never failed to put a smile on his face, when she could actually talk to him, which was rare.

Maybe the singing competition will mean that they'll have a chance to talk some more together? He would like that. She seemed great if you were her friend, since she always puts them first. She brings in baked goods from her family's bakery for her friends and sometimes she makes them clothes, since she's such a good designer.

Maybe he'll introduce her to his father when they're finally friends? That would be a good opportunity.

Whenever she does bring things in though, she gives them to him as well, not just to Alya and Nino, her other close friends. Does that mean that they're friends? He'd like to think so.

Anyways, he focused back to the lesson and to what the teacher was saying. He'd talk to his _friends_ after class.

After the lesson, they had another class, which was maths. Then they had a fifteen-minute break from lessons.

When the bell rang to signify the end of maths, they walked together to the cafeteria. There was silence between the group, and realising this, Alya began the conversation.

"Hey, girl? I've never seen you talk so… confidently. What's up?"

Marinette looked confusedly at her best friend, while blushing at the same time.

Embarrassed, she responded, "Nothing, nothing. I just like musicals, I guess."

Adrien smiled softly at this. He was glad that she could get over her fear of talking to others when talking about something she liked. Then suddenly, he had an idea. If he talked about musicals with her, maybe she would speak to him? It was worth a shot!

"Mari? What are your favourite musicals? I've never seen any before."

Hearing what he said, she gasped loudly, making a noise that the three others had never thought that she could make, something so noisy.

"You've never seen any musicals?!" she screeched in one breath, eyes wide. He realised that she hadn't stuttered once.

The other two must have realised the same thing, their faces looked surprised and Alya was about to say something when the black-haired girl quickly continued her confident streak.

"We have to have a musical marathon one of these days, seriously. How do you LIVE without musicals?! If you must know, my favourites are Hamilton, Waitress, Heathers, In the Heights, just to say a few. And that's without mentioning all of the movie musicals and Disney movies."

She shook her head at his inexperience in musicals. On the other hand, he was grinning excitedly. _'I'm finally having a conversation with Mari! And did she just invite me to watch musicals with her? Actually, that's not a bad idea.'_

Nino and Alya wore jaw-dropped expressions at the nerve of their friend, though they looked happy that she was finally opening up.

"I guess this means that you'll help us with the contest, huh girl," Alya teased, though Marinette looked like the human embodiment of happiness.

"I'd be delighted!" she squealed, hands and feet jumping around, not being able to contain how joyful she was.

"Will we actually be having that musical marathon because I would love that," Adrien asked.

Finally, Marinette realised how much she had actually been speaking, and to him. "I-I… sure! Yeah! C-come over on W-Wednesday."

Her three friends shook their heads fondly as her stuttering habit returned quickly, her body shrinking into itself, making her look smaller than she really is, compared to her looking cheerful and bouncy, almost Nino's height, though she will always be the shrimp of the group.

He smiled at her and told her, "That's great! What about you guys?" He directed the question at the other two of the group.

Alya smirked at the two enthusiastic teenagers but as much as she would love to not go and let them have a little 'bonding' moment, she does need her best friend's advice on the matter. Alya knew that she absolutely loved musicals, that they were her lifeblood, but she didn't know that her love of them would help her speak to her crush.

Similar thoughts were going through Nino's head until he responded, "Yeah, I can make it, Nette, I just need to ask my parents."

"Same here, girl," Alya replied.

Marinette nodded and her confident body type was reintroduced. She once again reminded of Ladybug, actually, her stance was exactly the same. _'Must be a coincidence,'_ he thought, pushing aside the thought.

They went to the cafeteria and each ate a croissant made in Marinette's family's bakery, which she had brought in since it was Monday. She always made something during the weekends, and it was to get them pumped for a new school week.

The bell then rang and they made their way to their classroom once more.

On the way, Marinette gasped loudly again, directing her friend's attention onto her, "What, girl?"

"Do you guys know English?" she asks worriedly.

Adrien nodded as did the other two.

"Nino? Adrien? You guys know English?" she asks in perfect English, instead of French.

Adrien, Nino and Alya's eyes widened in surprise and awe.

"Yes, my dad made me learn," Adrien responds in English.

"Yeah, a lot of great video games aren't available in French so I learnt English," Nino replied, again in English.

Adrien looked at Alya, "What about you, Alya?"

"Oh, Marinette made me learn for her precious musicals a few years ago and it just stuck. Twice the news to know, and the LadyBlog is available in French and English," she tells them.

Nino raises an eyebrow, "You know her musicals?"

"Hmm? Oh, only one. None of the others," she shook her head fondly.

Marinette sighed in relief.

"Hey, Mari? Why do we need to know English?" Adrien asks.

"All of the musicals are in English, and the Disney songs are, like, 100% better in English. At least, I think so." She responds, Alya nodded at the last part.

Adrien nodded to her and conversation continued as they made their way to class.

Even though they weren't speaking about musicals, Marinette's posture remained slightly more confident than usual, making her friends extremely proud of her.


	2. Tuesday

_**Chapter 2:**_ __ _ **(2091 words)**_

It was the next day, a Tuesday, and it was early in the morning, at around six o'clock.

School doesn't start for another two hours but Adrien always wakes up earlier than normal to have a moment to himself to think. He mourns his mother, ponders over Ladybug and her identity and he talks to Plagg about everything and anything.

This morning though, he thinks about what will happen tomorrow. He's never seen or heard a musical before, since his father would never care to show him and he never really thought to try them out, not since his mother's disappearance.

From those reasons, he has no experience about any musicals.

He's seen Disney movies before, but doesn't remember the songs, just the story, and he has no time in his routine for watching movies. He must remember some of the songs, right? Maybe when he hears them, it'll all come back. Yeah, maybe.

His routine is always filled with photo-shoots, modelling practice or meeting famous people and the public. Anything else is spent at school, doing homework, eating, sleeping and such.

He hardly has any free time so he wakes up earlier than most to at least have the time to think.

With this in mind, he wonders if he'll like the musicals, or if he'll like the songs. But first of all, he has to ask his father if he can go. He really hopes that he'll allow it. He'll just use a stupid reason, like, his reputation, and therefore his father's, will improve if he gets involved in the competition, and to enter, he has to go over. Yeah, that'll work.

He checks the time, and the digital clock on his expensive bedside table reads _'6:19'._

After summoning up enough courage to even dare speak to his father, he makes it down stairs. Gabriel Agreste was a famous fashion designer, and woke up at half five every morning to begin designing some type of clothing or another.

This worked great for Adrien since that meant that he was already up.

He quietly walked down the polished marble stairs and peaked into one of the dining rooms, the largest one. The table was very long, and had enough room for twenty people, maybe more.

The walls were covered with antique paintings, though at the end of the wall was Adrien's favourite, and at the same time, least favourite, painting in the entire mansion. It was a detailed painting of him, his father and his mother. The only painting or photograph of them all together.

He loved it as it reminded him of his mother, and whenever he looked at it, he felt loved again. Just by seeing her emerald-green eyes, which were so similar to his. He hated it as well though, since it also reminded him that his father was so very unlike his beloved mother. The man was cold and uncaring now, though before his mother's disappearance, he tried a bit harder to talk to him, to show that he was loved.

It turns out that this certain painting also attracts the eye of a certain Gabriel Agreste.

Adrien opened the door, making a slight noise to show his father that he was there.

His father turned around to look at him, his face looked a bit embarrassed, but he wouldn't know, since he's never seen that look on his father's face before now. Why would his father be embarrassed?

"Hm-hm. Son, what are you doing up so early?" he questioned, his feathers clearly ruffled.

"I'm usually awake at this time, but I stay in my room. I came here this particular day because I wish to ask for your permission for something, sir." His posture was straight and almost seemed like a military stance. No son should have to speak to his father and stand in front of him like this.

"Whatever for?"

"My school is hosting a singing competition using songs from musicals. Since I have no experience in songs or musicals, my friend from school invited me and our two other friends who are also inexperienced in this subject over to her house to teach us about it."

His father seemed to consider it, and after a few seconds, seemed undecided.

"Our reputation would be seen in a more positive light if I knew these sorts of things since most of the population know these songs. It gives the public another reason to search us online and buy your designs."

After a few more seconds, his father nods. "Very well. Do not disappoint me, son. Reach the finals. Do not embarrass me or ruin our reputation. When will this… visit, take place?"

"Tomorrow after school, sir."

"And how long shall you stay?"

"I'm not sure, since I don't know the length of most musicals. I'll call my driver to pick me up at a reasonable time, sir."

His father nods once more, and walks out of the room, signifying the end of their conversation. Adrien shook his head and mumbled under his breath, "I can't believe he treats me like a puppet, just another step of the ladder to success."

"Neither can I, kid. I've been around for thousands of years and I hardly see a father as harsh and professional as him compared to the norm," Plagg whispers from his shirt.

Adrien sighs sadly and walks back to his room. _'At least I can go to Mari's house tomorrow! It's full of food and I'll probably get to hear her sing!'_

Now fully cheered up, he gets ready for school, excited to see his friends, no matter how little there are. Three is good enough for him. At least, he thinks that Mari and Alya are his friends. They're friends to him anyway.

He just can't wait for tomorrow.

It was fifteen minutes before first bell rang, and Marinette was on time for once.

There was no akuma last night or this morning, meaning she had a full night's sleep for once. She just couldn't wait for the next day. She has a love, a passion for musicals and singing the many songs that are just so damn good at portraying emotions.

Sometimes, when she feels a certain emotion strongly, songs from musicals play in her head, correctly describing the feel of her mood. She loves them for that.

And there was always something about bursting into song and dance that seemed so fun!

"Hi Alya, I'm on time for once!" she exclaimed when she saw her best friend (other than Chat, of course).

"Hey what's that up there," Alya questions and points a finger at the sky.

Marinette looks up and sees nothing but sky-blue, not a single cloud in sight. "Alya, wha- "

"It's a flying pig with wings, girl! Honestly, you? Early for once? Seems impossible to me!" she laughs, exaggerating her words by motioning with her hands.

"Hah! Oh, sorry, Nette. It's true though, you have to admit," Nino states, walking up to them and throwing an arm around his girlfriend, Alya.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Hey, where's Adrien?" she asks.

"I'm here!" he shouts from the entrance of the school, near the top of the stairs. He walks over to them, clearly looking excited.

"What's gotten you so pumped then?" Alya asks, her journalist skills kicking in.

"I asked my dad if I could do the musical marathon thing tomorrow and he actually agreed!" He grinned excitedly. "I mean," the smile faltered slightly, "I did have to persuade him, saying that it's good for our reputation if I knew about it better. But still!" The grin returned.

Marinette grinned right back. She had forgotten about their meet-up when she saw her friends, but now that it was on her mind, she grinned eagerly, impatient for the end of the school day tomorrow.

"At least you can come!" she beamed at him, bouncing on the heels of her feet.

The three were once again stunned at her sudden stutter-less phrases.

"Hey, bros," began Nino, "I asked my mom and dad and they said that it's fine. I can stay as late as I want. It's a good thing they like music, huh."

"Yeah, I'm good too, girl. We can even have a sleepover, after the boys go home," Alya squeals, Marinette soon joining.

"Yeah! That's perfect. Wow, tomorrow will be amazing!"

The four friends continue talking until the bell rang, meaning that classes would start soon and that they should make their way there.

It was the last lesson of the day, in the middle of Physics. It was extremely hard to not say any puns or jokes during the whole thing.

Twenty minutes until the end of the day, and an akuma just had to attack.

The whole class was in panic as the akumatized villain was right in front of the school building. Adrien and Marinette stammered out some kind of excuse and rushed out, heading in different directions.

They both transformed, Marinette in the bathroom and Adrien behind a tree outside of the school.

They headed to the front of the school to see a woman, seemingly in her early thirties, standing next to a huge vine like plant. It separated into many different vines, some of which were wrapped around some civilians. The woman seemed to control the plant with a rake in her hand, most likely containing the akuma.

She was distracted by the struggling citizens that she didn't notice Paris' superhero duo land on the roof of the school.

" _Bonjour, mon petit minou._ How are we going to deal with this one?" Ladybug asks the leather-cladded superhero.

"Well, Bugaboo, we find the akuma first, like always."

She nods to her best friend. _'Maybe he's just as tired of losing precious time fighting akumas as I am.'_

She looks at the akumatized villain, named Poison Ivy, closely, trying to find something special about it. She noticed the woman waving the rake around, controlling the large plant.

"It's in the rake, kitty. Think you can distractPoison Ivy for me to snap her rake?" she challenged.

He smirked at her, "I sure do. Wish me luck, m'lady!"

She shook her head at his antics, " _Bonne chance,_ Chat."

He jumps off the roof and starts shouting at the akuma, betting that she can't catch him with the vine. He jumps around using his baton, dodging all of Poison Ivy's attempts.

After a few minutes of this, the akuma gets so frustrated that she starts swinging the rake more violently, trying to capture the very person who has one of the miraculouses Hawkmoth wants.

Ladybug sees an opportunity when the akuma stops for a moment, clearly tired of swinging the rake around.

The superheroine jumps down from the roof and swipes the rake from Poison Ivy's hands, and snaps it in half using her knee.

"Time to de-evilise!" she shouts, like normal.

She purifies the akuma and lets it go, quoting herself from before, "Bye, bye, little butterfly."

The two superheroes regroup and shout, "Pound it!" They fist bump as Chat Noir's ring beeps, signifying that he has five minutes until he de-transforms.

"Well, as pleasant as it has been, m'lady, I must get back to my own school."

She nods. "Of course, me too." She smiles softly, "See you on patrol, Thursday."

He grins and nods back, "Until then, m'lady," He bows and uses his baton to jump away, probably to his school.

She runs back inside and into the bathrooms where she de-transforms and checks to see if Tikki is doing okay. When she's told that everything's fine, she runs back to class.

She sees that Adrien and Alya aren't in their seats. She sneaks into her own seat. Nino seems too worried about his best friend and his girlfriend to question her absence.

Adrien sneaks back inside and ignores Marinette's suspicious glares. Seriously, who is this girl and where is the Marinette he knew?

He sits down as Alya comes rushing in, her phone in her right hand, "Hey, Mari! I just recorded an awesome video of the fight in front of the school! Did you see how well Ladybug and Chat Noir work together? It's like they can read each other's minds!"

The other three of their friend group just tuned out the rest, though Marinette and Adrien seemed a little bit proud of their closeness with their best friend, though Nino and Alya didn't know that.

It was the end of the day, and Adrien wondered what tomorrow will bring.


	3. Wednesday - Part 1

_**Chapter 3:**_ _ **(2641 words)**_

It was finally the day of the musical marathon, and the four friends couldn't be more excited.

Nino had told his mom and dad that he doesn't know how late he'll stay but it'll definitely be after dinner since Marinette's parents make the best food, which is unsurprising, really, since they are bakers and chefs, after all.

He can't wait to spend a day with his closest friends. Adrien is his best bro, Alya is his beloved girlfriend and Marinette is so sweet and shy, how could you not love her?

Alya was feeling similarly to him, she had told her parents that she would be on a sleepover to Marinette's house which they were fine with, they knew how close they were. Alya had only ever heard Hamilton, and was fully prepared to sing along to the songs with Marinette, though she was clueless on any of the others.

Sure, she knew Disney songs, but she didn't know the lyrics to most of them, only the odd one.

She loves Nino, her incredible boyfriend, and can't wait to introduce him to musicals, even though it'll be Marinette doing most of that. She was her best friend after all. And Adrien was so kind to everybody, and her best friend's crush, so of course she was friends with him.

Adrien was probably the most excited and eager of them all. He hardly ever has the chance to hang out with his friends outside of school, and now he gets to spend an entire afternoon listening to good music and getting to know Marinette, the most complicated person he had ever met.

She was always shy and stumbling over words around him, and was only a bit better with others, but when talking about things that she's truly passionate about, that fades away.

He can't wait to learn more about her.

And then there's Nino, his first and best friend, and Alya, Nino's girlfriend and the talkative part of the group. She knows how to break Marinette out of her shell and isn't afraid to give people a piece of her mind.

Marinette needed to take down her posters of Adrien and change her screensaver, which she changed to a picture of her and Alya. She had asked her mom and dad about having her friends over, and having Alya over for a sleepover.

They had allowed it, but since Marinette was supposed to make some pies that Wednesday and Thursday, she'll have to do it before they come over.

It'll start at around five, each person going to their house to bring things like their favourite movie, or a pillow and blanket, and such. Any necessities. Alya also has to bring over things for the sleepover.

School had just ended, and Marinette stuttered goodbye and raced over to the bakery across the road.

She needed to put together two pies, one sweet and one sour, as a kind of test to see if she can bake for her parents since they're leaving for three days to talk to some investors over in Britain.

They were leaving her in charge, on her own. They were leaving on the Friday, and they knew that she could hold her own, though they knew that she loved to bake to de-stress, and this was their way of showing that she can still have fun, as well as a test to see if her pies were delicious.

She sprinted inside, the bell ringing loudly as she opened the door. She dashed to the second floor, telling her parents that she was going to bake and didn't want to be interrupted.

She went downstairs again and opened a window to let in a light breeze. It was a warm Spring day, and the sky was cloudless.

She began to get the instruments needed to make pies. After a few minutes, almost fifteen, she was placing the finishing touches on the pies.

Then a certain song came to mind as she cut some lemon and washed the dishes simultaneously.

She reached for her phone and typed in the song on YouTube. Finding it, she clicked and continued her work.

She cleared her throat and tried not to feel too self-conscious.

 _ **-Make it work-**_

 _ **-Make it easy-**_

 _ **-Make it clever-**_

 _ **-Craft it into pieces-**_

 _ **-Make it sweet-**_

 _ **-Crimp the edges-**_

 _ **-Or make it sour-**_

 _ **-And serve with lemon wedges-**_

Her voice sounded melodic and professional as she placed the lemon on the pie and sprinkled sugar on the other. She continued with the dishes while seeing if the pies were good enough.

 _ **-Even doubt-**_

 _ **-Can be delicious-**_

 _ **-And it washes off of all the dirty dishes-**_

She finished the dishes and placed the pies in the oven, voice still sounding angelic.

 _ **-When it's done-**_

 _ **-I can smile-**_

 _ **-It's on someone else's plate for a while-**_

 _ **-I'll place it on display-**_

She gets a pie she made that morning onto the display case next to the till on top of the counter and closes the oven for her newly made pies.

 _ **-And then I'll slice and-**_

 _ **-Serve my worries away-**_

She finished baking and began dancing along to the song, ballet moves more than anything, since her mother took her out for ballet lessons sometimes.

 _ **-I can fix this-**_

 _ **-IIII can twist it into-**_

 _ **-Sugar-**_

 _ **-Butter-**_

 _ **-Covered pieces-**_

 _ **-Never mind what's underneath it-**_

 _ **-III have done it before-**_

 _ **-I'll bake me a door-**_

 _ **-To help me get through-**_

 _ **-I learned that from you-**_

 _ **-Mama it's amazing-**_

 _ **-What baking can dooooooooooo-**_

She absolutely loves this song. It's one of her favourites from the musical, and it suits her well. Maybe she'll sing this at the competition? Yeah, that's a good idea. Her voice sounded amazing and this is one of her favourite parts of the song.

 _ **-Make it up-**_

 _ **-And surprise them-**_

 _ **-Tell them all my secrets-**_

 _ **-But disguise them-**_

 _ **-So they dance-**_

 _ **-On the tongues-**_

 _ **-Of the very people-**_

 _ **-That they're secrets from-**_

She loves this part of the song since it's exactly what her life is like. She has so many secrets and she has to… not lie, but not tell the truth either. To disguise her secrets, like the song says. She wonders if Chat Noir has ever heard of the song, and what he thinks of it.

 _ **-Make it soon-**_

 _ **-Make it better-**_

 _ **-Although better never lasts forever-**_

 _ **-All make it smaaaaall-**_

 _ **-So it fiiiiits-**_

 _ **-Even thiiiis-**_

 _ **-Even nooow-**_

 _ **-Even as the walls come tumbling down-**_

 _ **-Even as I can't stop remeeeembering how-**_

 _ **-Every door we ever made-**_

 _ **-We never once walked out-**_

 _ **-Something I never got the chance to ask her about-**_

 _ **-So with flour on my hands-**_

 _ **-I'll show them all how-**_

 _ **-Goddamn happy I aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam-**_

 _ **-Sugar-**_

 _ **-Butter-**_

 _ **-Flour-**_

 _ **-Don't let me dooooooooown-**_

 _ **-Let's see the next amazing thing-**_

 _ **-Baking does noooooow-**_

When the song ends, she breaths heavily and turns off her phone before the next song plays. Her friends were coming soon, she should see if they're here yet.

Deciding to do just that, she turns around to face the front and right next to the open window, she sees her three friends, eyes wide and jaws dropped.

Well, just great.

Adrien was walking to the Dupain-Cheng's bakery, after insisting that he doesn't need a limousine to drive him to his friend's house.

On the way there, he meets up with Alya and Nino who were already walking together. Alya was carrying a backpack on her back, probably filled with sleepover essentials. Nino didn't bring anything, apparently. Though he was holding Alya's hand.

Saps.

He shook his head fondly at his friends and called out to them, and then they all walked over to the bakery, talking excitedly about what Marinette would show them all first.

The streets were empty for once, only the occasional jogger or dog-walker. It was a week-day after all.

When they were just in front of the bakery, Nino was about to open the door when they stopped as they saw Marinette turn on her phone and click on it a couple of times.

After a few seconds, music started playing from it.

' _From one of her beloved musicals,'_ they all thought.

They could hear because of the open window, and they walked over to it. It was one of those windows that cover the entire wall, so there is pretty much no wall, and just windows. There were a couple of window boxes, one in front of each window.

The three went to stand in front of the window, easily able to see and hear their close friend.

She seemed to be baking some… pies? He wasn't the best at baking or food. Well, he was an expert in camembert. "Is she baking?" he whispered, so that she wouldn't hear.

"Must be, looks like pies," Alya responded, Adrien nodded to show that he heard. He wondered what her voice would sound like, what the pies would taste like, what the afternoon would be like. From the first five seconds of the song, he already liked it.

Then she began to sing.

It was like nothing he had ever heard before, she was even better than professional singers! The other two were clearly thinking the same thing.

Marinette was singing about the pies, though as the song progressed, it turned more about her life and stress. A minute into the song, he was already in love with it. And Marinette's voice definitely helped. A minute and a half into the song, the three friends were swooning at her words, her voice sounding more angelic by the second.

She was dancing like someone who gets paid to do these kind of things, but even better, since it seemed like she was enjoying herself.

At some point, she sang about secrets and disguising them, and he had never heard anything more truthful and real. He felt… connected to the song in a way he never thought he could.

He'd leave it for Marinette though, she obviously felt the connection too. What secrets she had? He'll probably never know.

When she finally finished the song, he felt like it had ended too soon, and the other two looked like he felt.

All three of them had their eyes widened and their jaws were dropped at the sheer skill of the girl in front of them. She knew all of the words and she sang perfectly to all of the melodies, sounding like a choir of angels.

When she turned to look at them, they all froze, caught in the act.

She walked to the door and opened it, making the bell ring, "Well? Aren't you going to come in?" She teased, looking more carefree and stress-less than he had ever seen her.

Alya grinned at her and fangirled over her voice, "OMG, girl! Your voice! Literally the best voice I have ever heard! Like… ever! How have I never heard you sing before! OMG, you're incredible girl!"

The two boys nodded furiously at her words as the four friends walked into the shop and into Marinette's room.

Marinette just laughed though. "I don't sing because I'm good at it, Alya. I sing because it makes me happy." She flopped down onto her bed and turned on her computer.

He could clearly see that, it was obvious. Her genuine smile and gentle body posture were only some of the clues to show how actually happy she was when she was singing and baking. "Well, what musical are we listening to first?"

She turned around to look at him and slyly grinned, "A rare jewel of the musical world, a masterpiece of music and entertainment that won prizes because the guy who wrote and made the musical was so goddamn good at his job… Hamilton!"

Alya just sighed fondly and shook her head while Nino and Adrien looked at her confusedly.

Seeing their expressions, she explained, "It's about Alexander Hamilton, one of the most important founding fathers of America. He's even on the ten-dollar note! And the music is just so incredible. I know the lyrics to every song, every character. And I'm not even ashamed of it!"

Adrien laughed and sat on the floor, on a blanket she had put out for everyone to sit on while they watched the lyrics video. She went on YouTube and found it, and paused it for everyone to get comfortable.

"There's no video of the actual musical, so we'll just have to watch a lyrics video, which I prefer to be honest, since it's a lot easier to understand what they're saying."

Marinette seemed so excited that she made everyone else excited as well, though it couldn't compare to her.

She clicked go on the video and quickly got onto the blanket where everyone else was. On the left she sat, then it was him, then Nino and then Alya.

In her rush to get to the blanket before the video began, she sat quite close to him, her shoulder pressed against him. She blushed heavily, but didn't move. Since he actually quite liked it, he didn't either, though he blushed slightly as well.

Marinette was incredible after all. She sang like an angel and looked like one too, and she's always so kind to everyone. It's strange, because when she looks at you, and you speak to her, she pays full attention to everything you say. It makes you feel special and he thought that it was really her who was special.

Honestly, if he wasn't already in love with Ladybug, he might have fallen hard for Mari.

Marinette always sang whenever she could during the musical, and Alya played everyone else. Mari was usually Hamilton or Eliza and Alya was usually Angelica. They then shared the rest of the roles.

Nino and Adrien were amazed by the girls' talent at singing.

' _Yeah… sorry father. I'm definitely not winning this contest, Mari is.'_

At least he gets to hear her sing.

During the musical, she kept explaining things about the story that you only knew from listening to it millions of times or reading fanfictions, which she has done.

About half-way through the musical, she got up, saying that she needed to take the pies out of the oven, and would be back in about five minutes. While she was gone, Alya was doing the explaining, though he embarrassedly missed having Marinette next to him.

His face heated up at that.

She came back a few minutes later, and in her rush, she sat next to him again at the same close proximity from before, neither of them moving again. They both blushed slightly. Luckily, Alya and Nino seemed very interested in the musical, so they didn't notice.

When the musical ended, he just gained about a million and one puns from the musical. "Well, I'm not satisfied! Show us another one, Mari!"

The thing she did next was so unlike her but seems like something she would do anyway, but it still surprised everyone.

She rolled her eyes at his pun!

"Wow, you could pass for a Chat Noir, you both pun!" she chuckled at the absurdity, while Adrien sweated nervously. At least she laughed at his pun in the end, Ladybug never laughs at them. Now that he thinks about it, Ladybug rolling her eyes at his puns seems exactly like something she'd do, and is actually something she does.

' _Could it be?'_ He thinks deeply. _'Nah! Lots of people roll their eyes at puns, it's just something they have in common… yeah…'_

Meanwhile, Marinette was having similar thoughts, _'Puns? Adrien? That can't be right, he couldn't be… Nah! He must just really like the musical is all… yeah…'_

She shook her head and got up from her position on the floor to her computer and searched for the next musical…

 **A/N: The song included in this chapter is called** _ **'What Baking Can Do'**_ **from** _ **'Waitress'.**_ **I think that Waitress is a wonderful musical, and this song is one of my favourites. I'm sure you can see where I got my title from! ;)**

 **If you want to check out the musical, the songs are on YouTube. I'll always put the songs on at the end of a chapter, and you can go and find them on YouTube yourself.**

 **Enjoy!**


	4. Wednesday - Part 2

_**Chapter 4:**_ _ **(3546 words)**_

Marinette looked through her _'Watch Again'_ videos, looking for the next musical that she and her friends would watch.

It was around half seven. They would eat dinner soon so she needed a shorter musical. Maybe some Disney songs? They wouldn't watch the movies since they've all watched them or know the story, even Adrien knew them.

"Is it alright if we watch another musical after dinner, and just listen to Disney songs for now?" she asked.

Adrien thought for a moment as Nino and Alya nodded. "Yeah, that's fine," he told her with a smile.

She smiled back and put on _'I Just Can't Wait to be King'_ from _'The Lion King'._

As the music began to play, Adrien thought, _'I know this song! And the words too? That's weird. I'll sing along, for Mari. It'll make her smile.'_

He began singing as Simba, and Marinette grinned at him as Nino and Alya looked proudly at the two parties of their favourite ship smiling at each other.

 _ **-I'm gonna be a mighty king-**_

 _ **-So enemies beware-**_

Nino thought that he should join in, to complete the set of characters, so he sang as Zazu.

 _ **-Well I've never seen a king of beasts with quite so little hair-**_

 _ **-I'm gonna be the be the main event-**_

 _ **-Like no king was before-**_

 _ **-I'm brushing up-**_

 _ **-I'm looking down-**_

 _ **-I'm working on my ROOAAARRRR-**_

The four were giggling quite uncontrollably, but Nino still managed to sing the next line.

 _ **-Thus far, a rather uninspiring thing-**_

They had stopped giggling by now, almost.

 _ **-Oh, I just can't wait to be king-**_

In the following part, Nino said Zazu's speaking lines while Adrien and Marinette sang together.

 _ **-No one saying do this-**_ Adrien

 _ **-No on saying be there-**_ Mari

 _ **-No one saying stop that-**_ Adrien

 _ **-No one saying see here-**_ Both

 _ **-Now see here-**_

They were definitely some more giggles by now. Though, Adrien managed to get out the last line he says for a bit before giggling like a maniac.

 _ **-Free to run around all day-**_

 _ **-Free to do it all my way-**_

Nino sang the next part, but was happy to see Marinette so carefree around Adrien, she even managed to sing in front of him! And he was happy that Adrien was gaining a new friend.

He knew how hard it was for him to find real friends, and so far, his only friends are the three other people in the room.

 _ **-I think it's time that you and I-**_

 _ **-Arranged a heart to heart-**_

 _ **-Kings don't need advice-**_

 _ **-From little hornbills for a start-**_

Nino could see how happy Adrien really was at making a new friend and enjoying himself with them, away from his toxic father.

Marinette is honestly the sweetest thing ever, even sweeter than the pies she made earlier. She'd be a good friend for Adrien, and it seemed like she was overcoming her fear of talking to him. He was glad, 'cause wow that girl was obvious.

 _ **-If this is where the monarchy is headed-**_

 _ **-Count me out-**_

 _ **-Out of service, out of Africa-**_

 _ **-I wouldn't hang about-**_

 _ **-This child is getting wildly out of wing-**_

Adrien smiled at him, ready to sing the next line.

 _ **-Oh, I just can't wait to be king-**_

 _ **-Everybody look left-**_

 _ **-Everybody look right-**_

 _ **-Everywhere you look I'm-**_

 _ **-Standing in the spotlight-**_

 _ **-Not yet-**_

They were back to giggling, Nino was really good at singing Zazu's lines. His voice matched perfectly when he was imitating the hornbill.

 _ **-Let every creature go for broke and sing-**_

 _ **-Let's hear it in the herd and on the wing-**_

 _ **-It's gonna be King Simba's finest fling-**_

They sang that part all together, all four of them, singing at the top of their lungs.

 _ **-Oh, I just can't wait to be king-**_

 _ **-Oh, I just can't wait to be king-**_

 _ **-Oh, I just can't waaaaaaaaaaaait… to be king-**_

They were all laughing like crazy when the song ended, it was a wonder they could even sing it at all.

"Yeah, we're definitely winning this contest if we all sing together," Nino chuckled.

Marinette squealed eagerly and got up, dancing around the room, "Yeah! That's a great idea, Nino! We should all sing together after auditions!"

That… was a great idea. "Wow, I can't wait!" Alya jumped up into the air and hugged her best friend, excited for the contest to commence.

Nino stood up and started talking about how cool it's going to be whereas Adrien sat on the floor and brainstormed possible songs that they could sing if there were only four of them. Something from Hamilton, maybe? There were a lot of characters in that one, it'll be hard to find a song with two female characters and two male characters.

A Disney song then. Or one from another musical. That could work.

"What song _are_ we all going to sing together?" Adrien pondered, cutting through the eagerness of the group.

Marinette sat on her desk chair and thought hard about it while Alya and Nino sat on the floor again and talked it out with Adrien.

Eventually, after a few minutes of this, Marinette jumped quickly out of her chair and started squealing. "I've got it! I've got it!"

"What is it, girl?" questioned Alya.

"Well, no song from Hamilton has two guys and two girls singing, there are too many characters for that. None from Heathers, In the Heights, Waitress, Sister Act… Maybe Grease? Nah, that doesn't work. Maybe if we split off into pairs? It'll be easier to find a song for that. But it's your choice," she rambled.

Alya raised an eyebrow at her and smirked for a second, Nino did the same. Adrien didn't understand why but oh, well. "That's not a bad idea. As much as I would like to sing with all you guys, it's better to pick a good song, right?"

Alya and Nino smirked at him with suspicion but eventually they nodded, "Keep thinking of a song for four people, girl. We'll split up into pairs and think of good duets," she told her.

Marinette nodded and sat back down on her chair, deep in thought.

"Should we split into boy-boy and girl-girl groups or boy-girl groups?" he asked Alya and Nino, ignoring the strange looks they were giving him.

"Well, bro, most duets between a girl and a boy are love songs… so… boy-boy and girl-girl?" Nino smirked at him.

Now that he thinks about it, all his blushing and enjoying having her around are signs of liking her. Like… _'like'_ liking her. But he's in love with Ladybug. Is it possible to like two girls at the same time? Is that wrong? Either way, he wouldn't mind singing a love song with Mari, though it's best to lead them off the trail.

"Well, you said _most_ duets are love songs, right? So, it's fine," he responds innocently.

"Why, oh, why do you want to be paired with Marinette so badly?" Alya whispers, her face smug.

He blushed heavily at that.

"Oh, no, no, no, no! Nothing like that! It's just… she's so good at singing! You can't blame me for wanting to team up with her, y'know… nothing like _that,_ " he rushes out in whispers, not wanting the girl that they were talking about to hear them.

"Mmhm, right," mumbled Nino.

"You knooowww… that's not going to happen for two weeks. We should be thinking about the songs that we have to sing alone, for auditions. We can't sing together if we can't pass that," Marinette speaks up.

"Good point, Nette. Well, show us some songs!" Nino suggests.

She nods at him and goes on a search for songs that would suit them. After a few minutes of silence, Adrien gets slightly bored so he gets up and explores the room, eventually going to her balcony.

It was now almost eight after singing and talking for so long. Because of the time, you could see the sunset in the distance, though it was hard to see because of the tall buildings.

"Well, I'm singing the song that I was singing earlier, down in the bakery. Think I'm any good?" Marinette asks worriedly.

"Are you kidding?! That was amazing! I'll be surprised if you _don't_ make it through," Adrien assured her kindly, making Alya and Nino look at him strangely again. He has a few ideas now as to why.

"Alya, you can sing ' _Reflections'_ from _'Mulan'_ or _'Colours of the Wind'_ from _'Pocahontas'._ I think that those would suit your voice better, and I know how much you love women who prove men wrong," Marinette tells Alya as Adrien and Nino wait for her to tell them what they should sing.

"For you two," she begins when she turns to look at the two boys, "I haven't heard you sing enough to know what kind of song you should sing."

They both looked down at that.

"Don't worry!" she assured them, "We just need to sing more so I know what kind of voices you have."

They nodded and she went back to YouTube to find a song for them all to sing after auditions, "Alya, use your phone to practice the song you'll want. You boys tell her what she needs to improve."

"And you?" Nino asks.

"I'm still looking for a song that all four of us can sing. Okay, off you go."

Alya nodded and found _'Colours of the Wind'_ on YouTube. The music began to play and she cleared her throat to get ready.

 _ **-You think I'm an ignorant savage-**_

 _ **-And you've been so many places-**_

 _ **-I guess it must be so-**_

 _ **-But still I cannot see-**_

 _ **-If the savage one is me-**_

 _ **-How can there be so much that you don't know-**_

 _ **-You don't knooooowwwwwwww-**_

Adrien could admit that she sung wonderfully, but nowhere near as amazing as Mari can. Nino had his jaw dropped at his girlfriend's talent. Adrien shook his head at how silly he was.

He could see Marinette looking at Alya every few seconds, but was focusing on YouTube.

 _ **-You think you own whatever land you land on-**_

 _ **-The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim-**_

 _ **-But I know every rock and tree and creature-**_

 _ **-Has a life-**_

 _ **-Has a spirit-**_

 _ **-Has a name-**_

Nino still had his jaw dropped so Adrien elbowed him so he would close it. Honestly, they were meant to be, those two. He wondered if Ladybug and him were meant to be as well.

Maybe? They were _both_ superheroes after all. There were no others, so they depended on each other. And only they knew what the other was going through. Maybe Ladybug was out there somewhere, thinking the same thing, torn between two guys and unsure which to pick.

Hopefully, he was one of them.

 _ **-You think the only people who are people-**_

 _ **-Are the people who look and think like yooouuuuuuu-**_

 _ **-But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger-**_

 _ **-You'll learn things you never knew, you never knew-**_

He knew that the song was from Pocahontas. The tune sounded familiar, probably from the distant past when his mother was still… there. She's not dead, she can't be.

He knew the movie was about Pocahontas and John Smith, who fall in love.

Even though that story is extremely inaccurate, it's still a good story. And there's a magical tree in the movie, if anything, that's what people should get upset about when it comes to inaccuracies from the movie.

 _ **-Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon-**_

 _ **-Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grins-**_

 _ **-Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain-**_

 _ **-Can you paint with all the colours of the wind-**_

 _ **-Can you paint with all the colours of the wind…-**_

Wow. He must have forgotten how incredible this song was, he loves it. It truly is one of Disney's best, he thinks.

Marinette was paying full attention to Alya know. Whether to be supportive of her friend or because she had found a song, he doesn't know.

 _ **-Come run the hidden pine-trails of the forest-**_

 _ **-Come taste the sun-sweet berries of the Earth-**_

 _ **-Come roll in all the riches all around you-**_

 _ **-And for once, never wonder what they're worth-**_

How could he have forgotten this song! Seriously! And Marinette picked the perfect song for Alya. She loves to talk and to let people know certain things without offending anyone. She likes to break up fights, though usually, it's Marinette who gets there first.

This song helps her do all of those things. She's telling people a very important message, and she's singing it perfectly so far.

 _ **-The rainstorm and the river are my brothers-**_

 _ **-The heron and the otter are my frieeeeeends-**_

 _ **-And we are all connected to each other-**_

 _ **-In a circle, in a hoop that never ends-**_

Marinette told them to try and give her feedback on the song, right? Maybe she could dance to it, or do some kind of action with her hands to portray the message better?

What song would he sing?

What song would Nino sing, even? He's curious, and he wants the satisfaction of finding things out.

 _ **-How high does the sycamore grow-**_

 _ **-If we cut it down, then we'll never know-**_

 _ **-And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon-**_

 _ **-Or whether we are white or copper-skinned-**_

 _ **-We need to sing with all the voices of the mountain-**_

 _ **-We need to paint with all the colours of the wind-**_

 _ **-You can own the Earth and still-**_

 _ **-All you'll own is Earth, until-**_

 _ **-You can paint, with all the colours of the w ind-**_

Alya ended the song, and the other three people in the room clapped at her skill at singing. "So, any feedback," Marinette asks the boys.

"She could dance? Or move her hands around?" he suggested to the two girls, though mostly to Alya.

Marinette nodded. "I think you sang beautifully, and I'm _pretty_ sure that Nino agrees…" He nodded ferociously at the black-haired girl's words. "Thought so. You two are always so lovey-dovey."

"Yeah, calm down with the excessive PDA, I mean, seriously guys, c'mon," Adrien teased them.

"We're not any better than you are," Alya countered.

They both blushed heavily at their words. Well, Marinette did. Adrien had a little bit more control over his body, since he's had to hide his emotions a lot since his mother die- disappeared, she disappeared. Yeah.

Alya and Nino smirked smugly at their body reactions. Marinette, trying to distract them, changed the subject, "Anyways, enough of… that. Lets sing!"

Adrien raised an eyebrow at her, "What song?"

"Hmm, do you know any songs?"

Adrien nodded, "Yeah, most of the Lion King songs and Hercules songs."

She gasped loudly and started jumping up and down in her chair, "Hercules! And Lion King! You've got good taste, my young padawan."

He grinned at her. _'Star Wars references? That's perfect! God, I really do have a crush on her, don't I…?'_

"Yay! Star Wars references!" he beamed at her, perfect white teeth shining since she had turned on her light. Alya and Nino laughed at his enthusiasm and nodded to show that they understood the reference as well.

She put on _'I can go the Distance'_ from _'Hercules'_ but paused it before it began. "You know this one, right?"

He got up from the floor and looked over her shoulder to see the song that she was going to make him sing. "Yeah. One of my favourites too, it's just so inspiring. Makes me feel like I can do anything!" He laughed.

She grinned and nodded at the truth of his words. She clicked play and he sat back down.

 _ **-I have often dreamed-**_

 _ **-Of a far-off place-**_

 _ **-Where a great warm welcome-**_

 _ **-Will be waiting for me-**_

 _ **-Where the crowds will cheer-**_

 _ **-When they see my face-**_

 _ **-And a voice keeps saying-**_

 _ **-"This is where I'm meant to be"-**_

Adrien forgot how emotional this song was since the last time he heard it. He hadn't sung it in a very long time, he was surprised that he still remembered the lyrics.

It didn't matter, anyway, because Marinette was giving him the biggest most genuine smile he had ever seen and god, if he didn't like her before, he definitely did now. When she smiled at him, he felt like he was floating, as if he was the most special person in the world.

How had he never noticed how she made him feel before.

 _ **-I will find my way-**_

 _ **-I can go the distance-**_

 _ **-I'll be there someday-**_

 _ **-If I can be strong-**_

 _ **-I know every mile-**_

 _ **-Will be worth my while-**_

 _ **-I would go most anywhere-**_

 _ **-To feel like I belong-**_

He took a deep breath at the break in the song. He wouldn't cry, not in front of his friends. But… they were his friends. He's allowed to cry in front of them, right?

This song always makes him cry, stupid song. Actually, this song is just beautiful.

 _ **-I am on my way-**_

 _ **-I can go the distance-**_

 _ **-I don't care how far-**_

 _ **-Somehow, I'll be strong-**_

 _ **-I know every mile-**_

 _ **-Will be worth my while-**_

 _ **-I would go most anywhere-**_

 _ **-To find where I belong-**_

He has to wait again during the break for the reprise to start. It was always his favourite part because Hercules had just found out that he was a demi-god and he finally has hope that he can become a hero.

Adrien thought that it was a wonderful story, never mind how inaccurate it is.

 _ **-I will beat the odds-**_

 _ **-I can go the distance-**_

 _ **-I will face the world-**_

 _ **-Fearless-**_

 _ **-Proud-**_

 _ **-And strong-**_

 _ **-I will please the gods-**_

 _ **-I can go the distance-**_

 _ **-'Til I find my hero's welcome-**_

 _ **-Right, where, I, belooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong-**_

He was breathless at the end of the song, since he had put so much emotion into it. Then there was silence for a few minutes.

He was afraid to say anything in case they though he had sung so bad that they didn't want to tell him. "Adrien, I think we've found you a song," Marinette whispers breathlessly, shock upon her face.

Adrien raised an eyebrow at her like before, "What do you mean?"

"Honey, she means that you sung that so good that we don't need to look for another song," Alya told him, Nino nodding along to everything she said.

His eyes widened at the praise, "Do… do you really mean it?" he asked, directing the question to all three others in the room.

Marinette nodded and spoke quietly, "You have a real shot of winning the contest."

"What! No! You're going to win! Have you heard yourself sing! It's incredible!"

"He's got a point, Nette, you sing the best out of all of us. Though, Adrien, you do sing really well, she got that part right," Nino told him and Marinette.

She smiled at the praise the two boys gave her, "Thanks, but I've had tons of practice! This is probably the first time you guys are singing these songs so loudly or thoroughly before."

"Well, yeah. But that doesn't mean that _you_ can't sing well," Alya assured her.

The journalist then stood up and engulfed her best friend in a hug, Nino soon joining in. Marinette looked at him and motioned with her hands for him to join in. He grinned at her and _'God, if that isn't Chat Noir's smile,'_ she thought. No time to dwell on it now though, since all four friends were hugging in a big pile together.

They broke it up and Marinette's mom, Sabine Dupain-Cheng, knocked on the door.

Marinette went to open it and in came her mother, "Hi, dears. Dinner is ready if you all want to eat now."

They were all starving from not eating anything for hours, and from all the singing, so they gladly went downstairs to eat.

When they arrived, there were many plates on the table, each with a different kind of food. "Sorry, dears. We didn't know what kind of food you liked so we made lots of dishes earlier today. Is this okay?" asked Marinette's mom.

Alya, Nino and Marinette nodded like crazy at the sheer amount of effort Marinette's parents put into the dinner and Adrien told them, "Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, this is more than okay. It's wonderful!"

The other three nodded even more at that.

Marinette's father was already seated at the table, and he chuckled at Adrien's words, "Such a polite gentleman. And what's your name?"

"Papa, this is Adrien. He goes to school with us too," Marinette introduced him to her parents for him.

Her mom and dad nodded at her words and smiled kindly at Adrien. "Well, dear. You are always welcome into our bakery, understand? Any friend of Marinette's is a friend of ours," Mrs. Dupain-Cheng told him.

He nodded, "Understood, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng."

"Dear, call me Sabine."

He nodded once more and the group began to eat their dinner, not looking forward to ending the fun afternoon that they had together.

 **A/N: Hello again! So today, we have a larger amount of songs! No Hamilton ones I'm afraid, and I'm awful at puns when I actually think them through. I've had pun battles with my friends before, it's really fun.**

 **Sadly, only one of my friends know the musical, and one other knows the lyrics to** _ **'You'll be back'**_ **but hasn't actually seen the rest of the musical** _ **.**_ **Alas, what more can I do.**

 **Anyways, the songs in this chapter includes:**

 **I Just Can't Wait to be King – The Lion King**

 **Colours of the Wind – Pocahontas**

 **Go the Distance – Hercules**

 **All wonderful songs and movies, and you guys should all go and check them out, all three of those are some of my favourite Disney movies, though nothing will ever really top Lion King for me!**

 **Enjoy!**


	5. Wednesday - Part 3

_**Chapter 5:**_ _ **(3851 words)**_

They had just finished eating the nicest dinner that he had ever eaten before. Not just because of the absolutely amazing food, but also because of the great company.

The table fit six people, and one side was Nino, Alya and him, and on the other side was Marinette and her parents. He spent most of the time eating and pondering Ladybug's identity, like usual. Though he couldn't help but join in in some of the conversations.

After dinner, the four friends headed up-stairs and into Marinette's room.

A clock on the wall read, _'8:46'._

"I should be headed home soon, guys. I'll text my driver now, though I can stay for one more song," he informed his friends.

Marinette nodded as he texted the Gorilla, "I still haven't found a song for us four to sing, but you can stay for us to find Nino a song."

"Hey, guys. I've got an idea!" Nino whispered, making them come closer to be able to hear him. They were all curious as to what he wanted to tell them. "What if we really do split off into pairs. Really, I don't mind. What do you think?"

"Are you sure? I mean, there's no problem with splitting up, just if you guys want to though," Adrien rushed in one breath.

"No, no, it's okay. It's better like this. It'll be easier to find a song and this way, we really get to see who's the best singer," Alya assured them.

"Are… are you sure?" Marinette whispered fearfully.

She smiled softly at her, "Yeah, girl. I'm happy like this, but I want you all to be happy as well."

Adrien nodded, "Yeah. It _is_ for the best."

She beamed back, "Well, if you're happy! It's fine! And this will make the song search a whole lot easier. Thanks, Nino!"

She hugged him tightly and Adrien kind of secretly wanted her to do that to him too, but alas, you can't have everything. Maybe he could visit her as Chat Noir? That would be cool, and who wouldn't enjoy a visit from their favourite superhero, right?

After she finished hugging Nino, she skipped over to her laptop and went on YouTube once more, thinking of songs they could sing.

While she was doing that, Nino, Adrien and Alya were chatting about school, homework and lessons, things like that.

A few minutes passed, and Marinette him over to talk to.

"Okay, I think that, well, if we all get through, there are a ton of love songs for Nino and Alya and there has to be some non-romantic ones for us around, right Adrien?" she told him.

He nodded slowly, embarrassedly disappointed that he won't get to sing a love song with the black-haired girl.

"Maybe… _'We are One'_ from _'Lion King 2'_?"

"Yeah, that's between Simba and Kiara, right?" It's been a while since he had seen the movie. It was about Simba's daughter, Kiara, and Scar's adopted son, Kovu, falling in love. A kind of Romeo and Juliet story, really.

She nodded and continued to list options. Sadly though, he had to go. "Hey, Mari. Sorry, but my driver's here. You three keep looking for a song for Nino. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

She sighed longingly, though he didn't know that, "Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow."

He didn't want to leave, but it was nearing nine and he had to go home. Maybe he _should_ visit her as Chat Noir. Yeah, he didn't want to end the night yet.

Adrien had to leave to go back home, so Marinette was left with Alya and Nino. The latter had to leave after she found a song for him too, so soon it would just be her and Alya.

"Well, Nino. I think that you should sing _'Never Ever Getting Rid of Me'_ from _'Waitress'_. The song that I'm going to sing is from there as well. It's about this really weird guy called Odie, and he really likes this girl called Dawn. She has trust issues though, so the whole song is Odie telling Dawn that he'll never leave her."

"That's… cute. What do you mean by 'really weird'?" Nino asks her.

"Well, they met on a dating website, and Dawn didn't really like him in the beginning but by the end of the song, she likes him too. And by 'really weird', I mean that… well, you'll see. Here, I'll put it on!"

She found the video on YouTube and told him to listen. She sang along herself though, unable to keep silent when such a great song was playing.

 _ **-Dawn…-**_

 _ **-I will never let you let me leave-**_

 _ **-I promise I'm not lying-**_

 _ **-Go ahead, ask anybody-**_

 _ **-Who has seen me trying-**_

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said he was weird," Nino chuckled, Alya giggling in the background, "Are you sure Dawn ends up liking him?"

Marinette laughed at the question while pausing the song. "Yeah, they bond over revolutionary war re-enactments. It's sweet… in a way. Most people think that he's a creepy stalker who won't let go but I think the song just exaggerates how much he cares about Dawn, and he only wants her to give him a chance, and they end up together!"

Nino and Alya laugh at the context of the song while Marinette un-pauses the video.

 _ **-I'm-**_

 _ **-Not-**_

 _ **-Going-**_

 _ **-If it seems like I did-**_

 _ **-I'm prob'ly waiting outside-**_

Nino and Alya laughed a whole lot at that line as Marinette sighed fondly at her friends and paused the music video.

A few minutes had passed and they were still laughing.

"Yeah… it's a good song, don't you think?" she cheekily added as they burst into laughter once more while nodding their heads at her question.

After a few more minutes, they finally calm down enough for her to un-pause the video once more.

 _ **-Such a stubborn man-**_

 _ **-You'll likely never meet another-**_

 _ **-When we have our family dinner-**_

 _ **-You can ask my mother-**_

 _ **-She's-**_

 _ **-The-**_

 _ **-Best-**_

Marinette paused the video _again_ as the expected howls of laughter exploded from her two friends. "Honestly? Are you guys even surprised anymore?" she asked them, poking Alya's side.

"Nah, of course not, he just sounds so… stalker-, y'know," Alya poked her back.

"Well, he's not. I just believe he says that so Dawn knows that he's not going to leave her if they do get together. Again, I think it's sweet," Marinette responded. "Dawn says some stuff in this song too but you can just skip those."

"How am I supposed to show the judges how well I can sing if I'm singing in Odie's crazy voice?" Nino asked worriedly.

"I know that Odie's voice is… weird, but he's still a good singer. It's a comedy act, and a song is about the whole performance, not just your vocal skills. If you're even able to sing that song, you sing good. Okay?" Marinette assured him with a calming smile.

"Yeah, thanks," Nino huffed a relieved laugh. He must have been really looking forward to singing with Alya.

"Wanna hear more?" she suggested.

"Hell, yes!" Nino fist-pumped in the air.

"Your wish is my command!" she laughed and turned back on the video.

 _ **-You'll learn more about her-**_

 _ **-On our family history test-**_

The giggles only came back, and harder. "Seriously, guys?! Trying to listen to good music here!" Marinette sassed Nino and Alya as she was forced to pause the video once more.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just so funny, when he sings," Alya said in between giggles, her face covered in tears from laughing so hard. This musical, or this song to be specific, was going to be the death of her and her boyfriend… and that's without mentioning Marinette's sass. Honestly, that girl could be so unexpected sometimes.

"Yeah, sorry, Nette. Okay… okay… deep breathes…" Nino told himself, trying to calm down.

Eventually, they calmed down enough so that Marinette could put the song back on.

 _ **-I'm gonna do this riiiiight-**_

 _ **-Show you I'm not moving-**_

 _ **-Wherever you go-**_

 _ **-I won't be far to follow-**_

"Okay, really?! If that isn't stalking, I don't know what is!" Alya whisper shouted to her best friend who was sitting in her desk chair, who grudgingly had to pause the video for the thousandth time.

"It's just the song exaggerating, Alya. He's not really a stalker, he just means that if she needs him, he'll be by her side in a jiffy," Marinette informed her best friend.

She raised an eyebrow at the black-haired girl. "'In a jiffy?' Really? I haven't heard anyone say that in years," Alya chuckled as Marinette's face became layered in different shades of reds and pinks.

"Sure, Alya, I'm putting the song back on."

 _ **-Oh, I'm gonna love you sooooo-**_

 _ **-You'll learn what I already know-**_

 _ **-I love you means your never ever ever getting rid of me-**_

"You know…" Nino began.

"What?!" Marinette shouted as she pretended to be annoyed as she paused the video. Sure, she wanted to listen to the songs, but she didn't want to hurt her friends, who she cared so much about.

"That line was actually really sweet," he blushed slightly when he looked at his girlfriend.

Marinette raised an eyebrow at the two, "You mean the line when Odie says, ' _I love you means your never ever ever getting rid of me?'_ " She asks the dark- haired boy.

He nods at her words. "Yeah, sorry, I just think it's cute."

Alya went over to where he was and gave him a hug. "Don't worry," she whispered to him, although Marinette could still hear her best friend's words. "I think that it's sweet too. And romantic."

He blushed as Marinette sighed fondly and turned on the video again.

 _ **-Yooouu can tryyyyy-**_

 _ **-Oh, but I…-**_

 _ **-I love you means your never ever ever getting rid of me-**_

 _ **-Ready for your check? -**_

Dawn sung that line, making Nino ask, "Was that Dawn?"

"Yeah," Marinette nods, "He knows where she works so he went over to her and tries to persuade her to give him a chance."

" _Stalker…_ " Alya whisper shouted to no one in particular.

Marinette just laughs and un-pauses the video.

 _ **-Not quite-**_

 _ **-Pie for everybody-**_

Alya and Nino giggled quietly at this point in the video, making Marinette look at them with a raised eyebrow.

Luckily, they laughed quiet enough so that she didn't have to pause the video.

 _ **-I grew up a lonely child-**_

 _ **-In the suburb of the city-**_

 _ **-I spent my days alone-**_

 _ **-My only friend was a stray kitty-**_

 _ **-Called Sardine-**_

 _ **-(Saaarrrdine…)-**_

 _ **-Yeah, I thought it was hilarious-**_

 _ **-To call a cat a kind of fish-**_

"Haha! OMG! That was just… awesome!" Alya screeches as Marinette glared at her and forcefully presses the spacebar to pause the video.

"Not so much of a stalker now, huh, Alya?" Marinette smirks at the brown and red-haired girl, her best friend.

"Oh, no, he's still a stalker. Just… a lovable stalker!" she squealed and found one of Marinette's push teddy bears to squeeze and hug like she's running out of time.

Marinette chuckled to herself at the pun. _'Wait… did I seriously just laugh?! At a pun?!'_

Deciding to ignore that piece of information, she continued with the video.

 _ **-She played hard to get-**_

 _ **-Hissing as she scratched me-**_

 _ **-What she was try'na saw was-**_

 _ **-"Ogie come and catch me"-**_

 _ **-I-**_

 _ **-Learned-**_

 _ **-Quickly-**_

Marinette sighed and chuckled to herself, silently. She loved this part of the song because it reminded her of her _petit minou_ and how she had to learn how to be Ladybug and how to work well together with Chat Noir.

She knew that her kitty would never hiss and scratch her, but it was a nice part of the song that reminded her of her life.

 _ **-That perseverance stood-**_

 _ **-Between a cat-**_

 _ **-And her new best friend-**_

 _ **-Me-**_

For some reason unknown to humankind, Alya and Nino burst out laughing again.

Marinette just shook her head and let the video keep playing. If they didn't want to hear, they didn't have to hear.

 _ **-Oh, I'm gonna do this right-**_

 _ **-Show you I'm not moving-**_

 _ **-Wherever you go-**_

 _ **-I won't be far to follow-**_

"Oh, wait!" Alya called from where she was.

Marinette paused the video and looked at her best friend, "Yes?"

"In the part, when Nino sings it, there won't be voices in the background and it won't sound as cool!" she complained to her (to be honest) only reasonable friend. And that didn't mean that Marinette was reasonable, she was just the _most_ reasonable.

"There's nothing we can do about that Alya, Nino will just have to make due," she turned to look at him, "Sorry about that by the way."

He waved his hand and shook his head, "Nah, it's fine. Not your fault. You found me a great song. Thanks!"

"No problem!" she told him as she turned on the video again.

 _ **-Oh, I'm gonna love you so-**_

 _ **-You'll learn what I already know-**_

 _ **-I love you means you're never ever ever getting rid of me-**_

 _ **-When you say, "Never"-**_

Marinette paused the video on her own this time and told the other two people in the room, "See, Dawn is already falling for Odie!"

Alya squealed as Nino sighed at his girlfriend.

He looked Marinette's way and motioned for her to turn the song back on which she did.

 _ **-Yooouu can tryyyyy-**_

 _ **-Oh, but I…-**_

Nino and Alya opened their mouths to sing along this time and Marinette just barely managed to stop from erupting into laughter since she knew what was about to come.

 _ **-I love you means-**_

 _ **-Blah, blah, blah-**_

 _ **-yip, yep, yep, yep-**_

 _ **-Now get back to work-**_

"Woah, woah, woah! Now, who's that?" Nino questioned.

Marinette paused the video and looked back the dark-haired male. "He's called Cal. He's kind of grumpy and stuff, and is sort of mean to the waitresses but in a teasing sort of way," Marinette told them.

"Does he work there?" Alya asked her curiously.

"Yeah, I think he's a chef there too," Marinette stared into the distance trying to remember what occupation he had there. "Yeah, he is."

Nino nodded and thanked her before Marinette clicked space to un-pause.

 _ **-Yooouu can tryyyyy-**_

 _ **-Oh, but I…-**_

 _ **-I love you means your never ever ever getting rid of me-**_

As the song ended, all three of the teenagers clapped at the comedy number.

"Wow, well. That was an amazing song. Thank you so much, Nette. Like, seriously. You have no idea how long it would have taken me to find a song for me to sing."

She just shrugged at him and said that it was nothing.

Alya went and hugged him again. Marinette knew how much Nino meant to Alya, though they had never kissed before, but that doesn't really mean much. Even if it didn't last, she knew that Nino will always have a space in Alya's heart. Though, in reality, they will probably last, and for a really long time.

"Thanks, Nette, but I should probably get going now." Nino sighed sadly.

"You _should_ go now, so your parents don't start to worry."

He nods at her and kisses Alya on the cheek before seeing himself out. Alya changes into her nightgown, as does Marinette, and they set up beds on the floor, like a proper slumber party.

They talked for hours and hours, but as excited as the two girls were for the sleepover, Alya was exhausted. She wasn't used to staying up late, unlike Marinette, so she fell asleep at around midnight.

Bored, Marinette went to her balcony at the top of the three-story building and sat down on a chair she had brought up here.

She was just looking at the stars, millions of billions of miles away, yet so important to many people anyway. It fascinated her, how it doesn't matter how far something that you love is, they will always matter to you.

She was quite well hidden in the darkness of the night, and she wasn't expecting to see anything unusual.

That was, of course, until her eyes laid on a head of blond hair, located on the head of a certain model

' _Why's Adrien up so late?'_ she thought to herself, looking at the mangy alley cat strolling down the street as if he was dancing to singing in the rain. In fact, she was pretty sure that he swung around a lamppost at some point, Broadway show style.

She grinned at the sight of it, _'I introduced him to Broadway shows, I did this!'_

Apparently finished with the dancing, Adrien stopped walking to think. Marinette sighed dreamily, though not was dreamily as usual, since for some unexplainable reason, memories of Chat Noir flitted through her mind. Pushing the thoughts away, she soon realised that he began humming the tune to _'You're Welcome'_ from the Disney movie _'Moana'._ Soon he started to sing.

 _ **-What can I say except, You're Welcome-**_

He kept singing along to the song, and Marinette hummed along at certain parts. Adrien sat down on a bench, about a few metres from the entrance to her parent's bakery.

Although she didn't know it, Adrien had realised that Marinette was standing up on the balcony a good three stories higher than him. Knowing that she was scared easily, at least by him, he tried to make it look like he didn't realise such a thing, not wanting to scare her away.

Marinette looked at Adrien's body posture, and listened carefully to his voice, both of which sounded hauntingly familiar, and not just because they're classmates. It seems like it's more than that, but she just can't place it.

Adrien soon finished the song and walked off somewhere, and Marinette huffed in disappointment that he left. She was too tired to question why he was up so late, and Marinette was quickly falling asleep.

However, she was quickly awakened by a loud noise in the middle of the balcony, sounding awfully like moving fabrics.

She quickly opened her eyes and was about to say something when a hand covered her mouth. A leather-gloved hand. "Be careful, I don't want to wake anyone up," Chat Noir whispered.

"What are you doing here, Chat?" Marinette asked him after he removed his hand, her nightgown waving slightly in the sweet Spring breeze. _'Oh god, she's cute like that. Those clothes are way too big on her, it makes me want to hug her. Is that weird? Wanting to hug someone just because they look adorable? Yeah, probably,'_ Chat Noir thought to himself.

For the first time in all the months she had gotten to know him, he looked unsure and… frightened. _'Frightened of me? Why would he be afraid? And of me?'_ "Chat?"

"Umm, I don't know?" he shrugged, "I'm just checking to see if you're alright after what happened yesterday at your school."

She narrowed her eyes and stared at him suspiciously, "And why me? There are hundreds of students in my school."

"Uhh… ummm… I know you? In my civilian form?" he told her. _'Ah ha! That almost confirms my theories. Adrien must be Chat Noir!'_

She paled at the very thought. _'Adrien? That means that the whole time, I was rejecting Adrien?! Wait… Adrien makes puns? Wow, guess I fell for two dorky idio- Wait, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah! Who said I fell for Chat Noir?! Hahaha, how weird, right? Haha… And anyway, they're likely to be the same person so_ really… _I fell for one dorky idiot. Yeah, that's it.'_

Ignoring the sudden revelation, she responded, "Okay, yeah, that makes sense."

"So, princess, how are you?" he asks her suavely, the Chat Noir vibes back in full force. _'How did I not realise before! The same hair, but messier. The same eyes but more… cat-like. The same personality, but hidden away when Adrien! It all makes sense now!'_

"Princess? Are you listening?" Chat asked as he waved a hand in front of her surprised face.

"What? Huh? Oh, sorry Chat. Guess I'm just tired. I'm doing great. There's a singing competition going on at my school, and I love singing so I'm really excited about that. And you? Are you doing okay?" she rambled, trying to change the subject.

He smiled softly at her, like he had never smiled at Ladybug. _'Adrien's smile. Honestly, how oblivious can you get, me? Seriously. And both Chat and Adrien are so sweet and kind, and loyal too. Yeah, Chat Noir is definitely Adrien Agreste.'_

"Well, princess, I'm doing wonderfully. I hung out with some friends earlier today, which almost never happens! My dad is… really strict, so usually, I never get to even talk to my friends after school. Today was great!"

She smiled sweetly at his happiness. _'You bet you were hanging out with some friends today.'_ Then she thought about what he said. She knew Adrien was lonely, but this lonely? Looks like someone needs to take in a stray kitty.

"Well, I should get back home. Just wanted to make sure that you were alright. Well, goodnight, princess!" he waves from the railing.

He was about to jump off the roof when Marinette called back, "Chat, wait!"

The leather-cladded superhero turned to look at her, an astonished and curious look gracing his features. He jumped off of the railing on to the balcony, in front of her slim form. "Yes, Marinette?"

"I… I just wanted to know if you were alright, is all," she nervously looked at him.

Honestly, she didn't know why she called him back, she just knew that she didn't want him to go yet. Was this a weird thing to do? Probably. Was she going to do it anyway. She certainly will. She just doesn't want him to find out her true intentions of calling her back, or he'd never let her forget it.

He smiled that trademarked Adrien smile and assured her, "I'm fine, princess. Promise, cat's honour!"

She huffed a laugh and tried to disguise her blush because technically, Adrien had just called her 'princess!'

"Yeah, yeah. Just making sure. Someone has to, right?" she suavely played of the blush. It was dark enough so that he wouldn't see it, right? He actually could though, she just didn't know and he definitely won't tell her so that's that.

"Well, goodnight, princess. Have good dreams," he told her as he jumped onto the railings and flipped off of the roof.

"Goodnight, Chat!" she called after him, now a dark silhouette far away, only able to be seen from the distant streetlamps.

She couldn't believe it. She was always the one to insist that they don't find out each other's identities, and there she goes, finding out Chat's identity. She should tell Chat about this. Maybe during the contest? Yeah, that seems like the right time. She definitely wasn't going to tell him now.

She needed sometime for the information to sink in.

' _Adrien was Chat Noir. Didn't see that one coming…'_

 **A/N: Yay! Marinette finally found out, but it's going to be a while until Adrien figures it out. Oh, our oblivious sunshine child!**

 **Okay, today we have** _ **'Never Ever Ever Getting Rid of Me'**_ **from** _ **'Waitress'.**_ **Can you see a theme? Basically, I really like that musical.**

 **Also, there's, like, one line from** _ **'You're Welcome'**_ **from** _ **'Moana',**_ **but I'm still putting it here, so check it out! It's one of my favourite songs from the movie, and it's definitely the one that was stuck in my head for days after I left the cinema, and I know I'm not the only one! I'd like to say thank you to** _ **Starshine89,**_ **since he gave me the idea to include that song. Thanks!**

 **Have fun with this one, I am sure you, like me, have been going bald from tugging at your hair and screaming at the screen when something completely stupid and obvious happens. AARRRGHGH! It makes me want to punch the screen! Except… maybe not.**

 **That way, I'll never figure out if they'll discover their identities.**

 **Anyways, enjoy!**


	6. Thursday

_**Chapter 6:**_ _ **(2356 words)**_

It was the next morning, on a Thursday. It was early, too; almost seven in the morning. Marinette had woken up about half an hour ago when she then remembered the large secret that she had discovered the previous night.

She had then resolved that the best way to go about it was to tell Chat Noir… well, Adrien, at some point during to contest. Maybe he already knew about her own secret?

She was getting ready for school and had snuck in a few extra cookies for Tikki to eat during the day at school.

Since she had nothing else to do, she began designing the outfits for the singing contest.

Outfits are always better when original, she thought. You can make them however you want and then take credit for it. Her friends would be very grateful if she made each of them an outfit for the contest. That didn't matter though, as long as they were happy, she would be happy as well.

She sighed and grabbed her sketchbook and a pencil, preparing to go out.

Marinette, over the school year, had found out the clothes sizes for every student in the class so she didn't need to go hunting around for those.

She left a note on her bed to tell her mother and father where she went and she walked over to the Eiffel tower, sketchbook under her arm and pencil in hand, to look around and try to find inspiration for the designs.

She had decided to colour-code each outfit to the person it's made for. Everyone has a signature colour, after all.

She was designing dresses for her, Alya and Chloe so far. Marinette decided to make one for Chloe because, despite what people think, she was really improving as a person. She hadn't caused any akumas for two months and she had tried to stop with the snarky comments, though it's hard sometimes.

Marinette was… proud of her for trying so hard, and she thought that she deserved a dress for the contest, as a way of saying, _'Good Job!'_

Her own colour-code was obviously red or pink, Alya's colour-code was orange, and sometimes purple, which worked on her sometimes, and Chloe's colour-code was yellow or a dark blue, which really brought out her eyes.

So far, for herself she had designed a dark red knee-length dress with some layers of ruffles and a sweetheart neckline with both shoulders intact, though sleeveless. The top half skin-tight but had enough room to be able to breathe and feel comfortable, and the bottom half spread out more so that when she twirled around, it looked incredible.

Of course, she would keep her ear-rings on in case of an akuma, and she would wear a small necklace with a little ladybug on the end, the string that goes around her neck being black. Maybe Chat would figure it out himself, she doesn't think she'll be able to tell him.

Her shoes would be a dark red, and they would be ballet shoes. It doesn't have the wow-factor but it'll be easier to dance in them.

She was thinking of wearing her hair up in a bun, it would make her look adorable and it would change her whole signature look to seem more mature and talented.

She hadn't drawn Alya's or Chloe's dresses yet but was going to start just now.

For Alya, she was going for a dress that was at knee-length as well, but was tight fitting, like a pencil skirt, but a dress. It was a one-shoulder dress and the top half of it was just slightly loose and airy. It was a dark orange colour through the whole dress and she was pairing it with black heels that weren't too tall.

The waist was flattering for her figure and if she wore her hair down, like normal, it'll look wilder than if it was tied up which adds to the whole wild theme.

She could wear feather ear-rings to go for the wild look, she was singing as Pocahontas after all, and when she sings with Nino, they'll look flashy instead of wild. Maybe a necklace? A choker would look interesting, and black in colour, too, to match with the shoes.

For Chloe, she made a floor length dress, but it wasn't a poufy princess gown.

It was quite plain and basic, the top half was sleeveless and had both shoulders, and the top half was fabric with lace over the top. The dress was going to be a light yellow that wasn't too off-putting, but more pleasing and regal, kind of like the colour of lemon ice-cream, or a happy pastel yellow. That kind of thing.

It was sashed at the waist, the sash being a white to look more mature and eye-catching.

The shoes wouldn't be visible from under the dress but it would match the sash and she was going to wear sparkly ear-rings and a necklace, which _she_ will buy because there's no way that Marinette would be able to afford jewellery that expensive.

After she had finished designing the dresses, she checked the time and saw that it was almost time for school to begin so she made her way to the school building, but not before going back to the bakery to greet her parents.

They had tasted the pies she had made yesterday and they were absolutely perfect.

She could be a master baker when she grows up if she wasn't so set on becoming a fashion designer. Now that she thought about it, she still had to design Adrien and Nino's outfits!

She sprinted to school ten minutes before it began and ran to her classroom to design for the last few minutes while she was alone.

It was Thursday morning, almost seven o'clock, and the youngest Agreste was awake and bored.

Nathalie was supposed to come to see if he was awake in half an hour, and he didn't know what to do for the next thirty minutes while he waited for his entirely planned day to begin.

Wait… maybe he could visit his princess! Yeah, that's a great idea!

Now excited, Adrien called for Plagg and transformed into Chat Noir so that he could make it to the Dupain-Cheng quickly. He wanted to spend as much time as he could, doing what he wants, and right now, he wants to speak to a secretly sassy teenage girl that he may or may not have a crush on at the moment.

When he got there, he knocked on the trapdoor. When he received no answer, he went to look in the room and saw nothing. He grew worried.

He knew that the girl could be very unexpecting, and that she could hold her own, but he couldn't help but see her as vulnerable and innocent, so he looked around the city, thinking of places she could be.

Eventually, he ended up on the Eiffel tower, and when he looked down, be saw a little black dot on the ground.

He hopped down onto a nearby building so he could see closer.

When he got a better view, he could see his princess designing some things on her little sketchpad that she uses separately for her designing projects.

She looked deep in thought and he decided to let her be. Not knowing the time, he raced back to his father's mansion before Nathalie checked his room and saw that it was empty. His father would be furious if that happened.

Luckily, he made it in time so he was already transformed back into Adrien by the time Nathalie checked in on him.

She was still designing Chloe's dress when the classroom door opened and someone entered.

When Marinette looked up, she saw the daughter of the Mayor standing in front of her. "Hey, Chlo', what's up?"

The blonde gave her a shy smile, though it was genuine and that's good enough for now. "I wanted to ask you for something."

About a month or so ago, Chloe went to Marinette and apologised for everything she had ever said and done prior to that, her mother leaving her had made her depressed for a while. She said that she wanted to change, for good.

Marinette, being the kind soul that she was, agreed to help her and give her a chance.

They had stopped fighting in the classroom, and they sometimes asked each other for help, which rendered the class silent every single time. Even Alya looked like she had just had a tea party with an alien from Jupiter or something when that happened.

Over that month, Marinette could confidently say that she was friends with the blonde. She was a pretty interesting girl once you've gotten past the… first few layers of her personality.

But they were trying to change that so that she was a lot politer, so it was all good.

"What do you need?" she asked kindly, with a comforting smile.

"I, uh… was hoping that you'd make me a dress for the contest?" she asked, unsure.

"Chloe, it's okay to ask. And don't worry, I've got that covered. Wanna see it?" she assured her new friend.

Chloe looked surprised and then grateful for the friend that she had in front of her. "Oh, yes please."

Marinette smiled at her and nodded her head as a way of saying _'Good job on improving those manners of yours.'_ She gave her sketchbook to the blonde girl.

"Wow, Marinette, these are really good, thank you so much for designing me a dress," she thanked her.

"It's no problem, and thank for improving your manners. Like, seriously, you sound reformed. Good job!"

Chloe smiled, relieved at that bit of information.

"Oh, hi Chloe," greeted a new voice. Someone had just entered the classroom and Marinette could guess that voice anywhere.

"Hello, Adrien," Chloe waved giving him a genuine smile.

He looked stunned for a second at how nice she was being when he remembered that she was talking to Marinette, his lady, his princess. Of course she was kinder, she was now friends with the sweet Marinette.

The Marinette how was trying to avoid looking at his eyes, his green eyes. His green eyes which just happen to be the same colour as Ch- _'Okay, this is going to drive me insane if I keep this up. Calm down, me.'_

"Hey, Mari," he greeted her as he put his bag down on the floor and started chatting with Chloe about their strict parents. He could see her duck down and keep designing whatever she was designing before.

Then the bell rang and the rest of the class filed in, silencing the conversation the two blondes were having.

It was evening now, and Ladybug and Chat Noir were supposed to meet up for patrol that night.

Chat Noir was there early, eager to see his lady again, to prove to himself that he didn't have a crush on Marinette, whereas Ladybug was trying to go as late as possible so that she didn't have to visit her favourite kitty.

She was afraid that she'd say something that would tell Adri- _'I mean Chat N- No! I do mean Adrien… ugh, this is exhausting. I'm going to go crazy if I keep this up.'_

She wasn't looking forward to the meeting.

" _Bonsoir_ , m'lady. And how are you this fine evening?" he grinned at her.

"Well, I could be doing better, _Chaton._ But I'm doing fine, just a bit stressed. And you?" she asks politely, even though she just wants to get it over with. _'What's this,'_ she can hear Alya's voice in her head, _'You_ don't _want to spend some time with Adrien, I must be seeing pigs in the sky again!'_

She sighed quietly so the male in front of her wouldn't hear. "I'm doing paw-somely this week, m'lady. I've been having a purr-fect time lately," his grin grew even more.

' _Wow, he must really not have much of a social life, poor kitty,'_ she thought, worried for her partner in crime, or, as she should say, partner in… justice? Sure, that sounds okay. She's just worried about that kitty of hers.

"C'mon, kitty. Let's start patrol, then you can go spend some more time with your friends, okay?"

He flirtatiously smiled at her, "But m'lady, I would much rather spend some time with you…"

She sighed and shook her head fondly at the leather-cladded superhero, "Not now, Chat, maybe later. Now, c'mon!"

"Okay, okay. Fine, let's go."

An hour later, the two superheroes regroup and talk about what they had seen over the city, if there was any unusual activity around.

Today, there was none, so they sat on the top of the Eiffel tower, looking at the lowering sunset.

Chat couldn't help but look down and remember seeing his brave princess designing with a steel determination. She had a heart of gold, that girl. She even helped another girl that she hated so that said girl could be a better person. Now, Chloe is one of the politest people that he knows, though she can still be a snarky jerk sometimes.

Marinette truly was a rare gem of humankind, and he was sure to treasure his time with her, but he treasured his time with the lady in red right next to him as well.

He kept feeling selfish for liking two girls at the same time but really, you can't control your feelings, can you?

Suddenly, his miraculous started beeping, signalling that he would have to transform soon.

"Well, m'lady, it has been a pleasure, like always," he told her with a seductive smirk as he bowed at her like normal.

She nodded at him with a smile, "Of course. Goodnight, Chat!" she shouted as she had already jumped off the tower.

Something about that phrase was familiar, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what. Oh, well.

He jumped off himself and made his way back home, his mind split evenly between a red and black-spotted superhero and the kind daughter of the bakers down the street.


	7. Friday

**A/N: (Oh, God. I'm sooooooo sorry that this chapter is slightly late; usually, I post in the early mornings (UK time), and where I am, it is just after eight by the time I have posted this chapter. My laptop had stopped working for about a day and a half and it literally just turned on about ten minutes ago. Sorry for it being slightly off schedule, even though it is still on the Friday that I'm supposed to post it.)**

 **I'm sorry that I forgot to say so the last chapter but I** _ **have**_ **drawn Marinette, Alya, and Chloe's dresses for the contest, though I'm not so sure how to get it on here, so for now, anyone who's reading this will just have to use their imagination. ;)**

 **Just so you know, I'm horrible at fashion-y descriptions, I even had to go on a website and when that had nothing, I went website-searching for about twenty minutes for fancy words!**

 **I love to draw, it's one of my favourite past-times, though I'm not taking art class at school. I just love to draw, I despise absolutely** _ **everything**_ **else! :(**

 **You all probably don't care but I'm in the choir at my school, and we were singing all day on Friday 22** **nd** **, it was really fun! I know you guys don't care but not many of my friends are in it and I'm lonely… :'(**

 **It's nice having people to talk to, even if I have friends for that, but the more the merrier, right?! :D**

 **Anyways, Enjoy the chapter!**

 _ **Chapter 7:**_ _ **(3112 words)**_

Friday morning was action packed.

It was the day that Marinette's mom and dad were scheduled to leave to talk the important investor in Britain, and they were leaving for the airport at around the same time Marinette was supposed to go to school.

That meant that the bakery was closed until school ended, so there will be a ton of customers coming by then, which meant a lot of work for Marinette to do.

In between being Ladybug and designing five outfits and making them by Monday, she now had to make lots of different baked goods to keep up the number of things to sell at the counters, and there's still enough in the displays.

It was hard work, but over the night she had almost finished her own dress, had designed outfits for Adrien and Nino and had baked two dozen chocolate-chip cookies.

In her opinion, it was going pretty good, but it was more stressful than she though it was going to be.

A few blocks away, Adrien was practicing the song that Marinette had assigned to him for the auditions and he thought that it was going well.

Nathalie had even come in to praise him on his singing.

Hell, on the way to school, even the Gorilla congratulated him on his skill, and he never says anything, so it's a pretty big achievement, he thinks.

Nino had also practiced his given song and he thinks that he loves the hilarity of it way more than he should but, too late now.

He and Alya had gone on a date which had consisted of practicing their songs, and Alya played as Dawn and Cal, making them laugh so much that they even cried. Alya already knew her song, like Marinette, but was practicing anyway.

While baking, Marinette sings her song, as it makes her want to bake more. It truly is a masterpiece, that song.

Chloe told Marinette that she was going to sing _'I Wonder'_ from _'Sleeping Beauty,'_ a song which both girls already knew the lyrics to. It was a hard song to sing so Marinette was trying to help her whenever she can, and in return, Chloe helped her with school things like homework and such to ease the stress Marinette felt was strangling her.

It was about half six in the morning, and Marinette had only slept around five hours last night. She was adding the finishing touches to her own dress and had begun making Alya's dress.

She knew it was bad to work herself so hard, but if it was for her friends, it's worth it if it's for friends, right?

It was almost time for school, and she was about half-way done with Alya's dress.

Marinette ran across the road after checking both sides, and made it to school five minutes early. She wasn't late because she forgot or anything, she just wanted to spend as much time as possible doing things that were useful. Not that school wasn't useful, but it would be nice if she could just focus all of her time making outfits and running the bakery.

Her parents were supposed to come on Monday morning, and they would arrive at the bakery just before school starts, so they could see their daughter again.

"Hi, Alya," Marinette greeted as she sat down next to her best friend in their classroom. They were the only ones there except for Nino, everyone else would still be outside, or running late like Marinette is usually.

"Hey, girl," Alya waves cheerfully, "So, I heard from the reformed blonde that you're making dresses!"

She sheepishly nodded as Nino heard and turned around, "Really, Nette? That's amazing! You just designing dresses?" He waggled his eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes and added, "Yes, I've already designed outfits for you and Adrien."

He gave her a huge grin, "Thanks, Nette!"

"And!" she stopped him before he turned around again, "Your outfit will match with Alya's dress, but it's hard to see when apart, so for the auditions, you'll have your own outfits, and then when the semi-finals and finals take place, you'll have matching outfits!"

"Wow, Nette! You didn't have to do that!" Nino looked grateful and surprised.

"Sure I did, you guys are my friends, after all," she gave the other two people in the room a genuine little smile.

Then the door opened and in came the youngest Agreste.

"Hey, dude," Nino greeted.

"Hi guys, so what are you talking about?" he asks curiously.

"Adrien, curiosity killed the cat," Marinette suddenly told him, smirking at him.

He looked nervous, and a bit surprised, but Nino and Alya didn't see that, they looked at Marinette, shocked at her little comment, she would never talk to Adrien like this!

"Well, satisfaction brought it back, Mari," he cheekily grinned at her after he got over the surprise, _'Why did that scare me so much?'_ he thought. _'Maybe because she mentioned cats? It would be bad if someone found out, Ladybug would be furious, but Mari looks so cute with a little smirk. Is that weird? Yeah, probably.'_

"Ah, true, true. But you won't get any today, so…" she shrugged her shoulders and smirked.

He huffed a laugh and sat down, acting a bit more like Chat Noir than normal. He was surprised that the little black-haired girl would be so straight-forward, she was usually stuttering like crazy and was always too nervous to speak to him.

Now though, they weren't talking about musicals and she was speaking to him with no fear.

He was confused, but he liked this new sassy side that he had never seen before. Maybe he should visit her as Chat Noir again?

She was usually more sassy and confident around Chat, but now she's showing that side of her with his civilian form. He assumed that she now felt comfortable around him, which he'll take as a good sign.

Adrien, Nino and Alya were talking about something or another while Marinette took out her sketchpad and looked at her designs for the two boys.

Adrien had a casual kind of suit, which was black, a logical choice when concerning his other identity _._ The tie was green, which kind of signified the Chat Noir part of him. When they danced together, they would look amazing, because although no one would realise it, they represented Ladybug and Chat Noir.

She though that it was an interesting psychology test.

Black shoes would be matched with the suit, and sometime before the final performance, she would tell him that she knew who he was and who she was. Maybe she would give him a little necklace that was black with a little green paw print at the end, as a symbol that she knew his identity.

She was going to wear a matching one but with a ladybug on the end instead. She thought that it was cute, and Marinette doesn't think that she could tell him to his face.

For Nino, he would have a casual kind of suit, but instead of black, it was a very dark blue, and he would wear a dark orange tie. It sounds like a bad colour combination but it actually works.

That way, he and Alya match without people realising when they're apart.

Chloe had wanted to sing alone, so Marinette didn't have to make her dress match with anyone's outfit.

Good.

She was… well, not absolutely exhausted, but still more tired than normal. She didn't know what to do, not really. How was she supposed to finish the outfits if she had to run the bakery until half seven in the evening every day. It closed at half four on Sundays, so that gives her a bit more time.

The only ones who knew about her parents leaving was Chloe, since Marinette had called her in a panic when her parents told her. She was going to call Alya but clicked the wrong contact.

It doesn't matter anyway, Chloe helps her with school work and gave Marinette extra time to make the outfits.

She sighed.

The bell rang and the rest of the class walked in as the four friends took out what they needed for History, the lesson they had now.

The last bell had just rung, and it was the end of the school day.

Most students were excited for the free weekend, a time when they could do as they please, play games, go outside, hang out with their friends.

The exceptions were Marinette, Adrien and Chloe.

The first one, Marinette, was because she had to work non-stop for the next three days and probably wouldn't get a wink of sleep for who knows how long.

She still had to finish three and a half outfits for the Monday and that would take a lot of work. Then there was the running of the bakery, which would take up a lot of time as well. God, this weekend was going to be hard.

The second one, Adrien, was because he had to go back to his father's mansion.

It would never be a home to him, not since his mother went missing. His father was cold and was always working on something, so he never even spoke to his own son. He was pretty sure he hadn't spoken to his father since that Tuesday, when he asked for permission to go to Mari's house.

He wasn't looking forward to spending the weekend in a dark, cold mansion with no one to talk to.

The last one, Chloe, had the same problem as Adrien. She had the world at her feet, but she felt lonely. She didn't want to go home since she would just be alone.

That's when Chloe saw the black-haired girl that gave her a second chance approach her. "Hey, Chloe? Can I ask for a favour?"

Marinette looked nervous. "Yeah, sure. What is it?"

"Well, I still need to finish four outfits for the auditions and… well, you already know about my parents. Soooooo… can you help me?" She tried to give Chloe the biggest most supportive smile she could muster while the blonde thought.

"Well, I will be bored out of my mind if I go home," she sighed, "Very well, Marinette. But on one condition!"

"Yes?"

"Can I bring Adrien? Please!" she begged, and Chloe never begs. Ever. Marinette wondered why she would want Adrien to come.

"What? Chlo'? I though you got over Adrien? Why do you want him to come over so badly?"

"You can ask him yourself. I'm doing this for him, not me," she grinned, proud of her improvement in the kindness department. Marinette was proud too, as she had helped her, and since Chloe had tried so hard to change.

"Fine, I will!" she challenged cheekily as she turned around and strode over to where the model was standing.

Marinette poked him in the arm to gain his attention, "Ow! Wha- Marinette! Why?!"

"Do you want to help me at my parent's bakery?" she asked him, while smugly glaring over to where Chloe was standing.

The blonde girl strolled casually over to where the two were standing and poked Marinette in the side. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"That! Was for doing… that!" she struggled to say.

Marinette huffed down a laugh while Adrien looked at the two girls in confusion. "So?" Marinette turned to look at him, giving him one of those cheerful little smiles that made his heart flutter. _'Damn, I like her. Why?!'_ "Do you want to help?"

"Umm, yeah. Sure, but I don't know how to bake…" he regretfully told her.

He expected her to look disappointed but she just giggled and waved her hand at him. "Don't worry, I've done all of the baking. Blondie over there can't cook to save her life!" Marinette stuck her thumb out to point at Chloe.

The blonde girl just huffed at Marinette and crossed her arms, pretending to be insulted.

"I just need you to man the counter and give them what they want. I need to make the outfits for auditions, and no! You can't see them yet," she shook her head fondly as she began to sprint down the street to the bakery, Adrien and Chloe not far behind.

The bell rang as the three teens raced into the bakery.

There was already someone waiting outside. "Be with you in a minute," Marinette told the elderly lady just before they entered the three-story building.

"Soooooo… what do we do," Chloe asked her.

"Okay… Chloe, turn the sign to make it say that the bakery is open. Adrien, call your driver or whatever and tell him that you're practicing your lines for the contest," Marinette told the two as she ran to the displays and counters, checking if they were presentable.

The two blondes did what they were told and the elderly woman came inside. Adrien had already called his driver and the two were standing awkwardly, waiting for Marinette.

"Chloe, stand behind the counter and give Mrs. Blanchard what she asks for. Adrien, come with me."

As Chloe tended to the elderly woman, Marinette brought Adrien into the kitchen.

"Are you sure I'm allowed to be in here?" he asked nervously.

"Well… I'm in charge this weekend, and I say that you are!" she assured him before picking up two large trays of cookies and handed one to Adrien.

"What am I supposed to do with these?"

"Take them to where the till is and put them on the counter top next to it. It's free so you can't miss it," Marinette told him as she picked up another tray.

Adrien was surprised; Marinette was so… small, and innocent in a way. He couldn't believe that she was so strong yet here she was carrying two massive trays covered in, honestly, quite heavy cookies. Sure, Adrien could lift it because he exercised a lot as Chat Noir, but where did Marinette get _those_ muscles?

They went back to the front to see that the elderly lady had already left with some fresh bread. Marinette and Adrien placed down the cookies and Marinette asked him to, "Put them in the display case." There were already some inside so he would know how to do it.

She then noticed something in Chloe's hand.

"What's that, Chlo'?" she curiously asked the blonde.

"Oh, just some money that Mrs. Blanchard gave me," she whispered. Marinette smiled softly and showed Chloe how to work the till.

"You guys understand everything, right? Adrien, you can help Chloe if she doesn't know what's what, since I told you, is that okay?" After receiving two nods, she continued. "I'm going to work on the outfits, so if you need anything, I'll be in my bedroom on the third floor."

She then went up the stairs and to her room and began to make the outfits.

After a few hours of this, Adrien came upstairs saying that he had to go home. Deciding that now was a good time to stop for a break, she heads downstairs.

It's almost half seven so she closes the shop and tells Chloe to call her driver.

Adrien had already left and so that left Marinette and Chloe alone on the first-floor of the building, in the bakery part of it. "Hey, Chloe? Can you help me with one part of the outfits?"

Chloe gasped, "Of course I can! What do you need me to do?"

Marinette grabbed her sketchpad, flicked to the page where Chloe's dress was drawn, and pointed at the expensive ear-rings and necklace, "I don't have the money for those, could you buy them?"

"Oh, sure, Marinette! Is it any more or just those?"

Marinette smiled gratefully, "That's it. Thanks, Chlo'!"

"Soooooo… how far along have you gotten?" Chloe asked her, curiosity clear in her voice.

"Well, I've finished mine and Alya's dresses, and I'm about half-way done with yours," she told her, "Do you want to come and help tomorrow?"

"Ah, I would love to but I have this ceremony to attend. Adrien is free though, if you want me to ask him?" she teased with one eyebrow raised.

"Whatever do you mean?" Marinette asked innocently, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Marinette, I _can_ see that you like him, even if you can miraculously speak to him now," Chloe rolled her eyes at her. _'Well, it does have something to do with the miraculouses.'_

"Yeah, yeah. Please do ask him though," she added with a sheepish smile.

Chloe rolled her eyes once more at her friend, "Of course." She then walked out of the door, making the bell ring violently. _'Dramatic much?'_

Now that the bakery is closed, she needs to bake a whole ton more, so that she can refill the displays. She spent an hour making some pies, cakes and bread, since she had made enough cookies to last the three days yesterday.

She sighed contently when she had finished putting everything in the ovens and had begun heating up some leftovers.

She finally had some time to herself as she ate her meal at, now, eight thirty.

Marinette enjoyed the silence while she could and when she finished eating, she had continued with the dresses. She was making good progress on the outfits of the group. She just needed to finish Chloe's dress and start making the two suits for the boys.

At around half nine, she took out the things she had put in the oven and began setting them up in the displays so that she and Adrien wouldn't have to do it the following day.

That's when she remembered that she would spent the entire morning with Adrien.

Adrien!

' _Calm down, Marinette! It's just Chat! Nothing to get excited about.'_ The problem was that the previous line was getting less and less effective. It seemed like she was falling for the Chat Noir side of Adrien as much as she was for the other half.

Sometimes she wondered if Adrien knew if she was Ladybug or not. Either way, she wondered if Adrien was torn between this side of her, the clumsy and cute side, and the Ladybug side of her.

' _Hah! What was she saying?! No one could like her for her. She was just a clumsy ordinary girl, there's nothing likable about that. It's Ladybug who everyone likes, including Adrien. Of course they do, she's incredible, brave, beautiful, she's nothing like clumsy Marinette.'_

She sighed sadly at her gloomy thoughts.

When she finished setting everything up, she went back upstairs and completed Chloe's dress before passing out from exhaustion.

 **A/N: Soooooo, Mari is** _ **finally**_ **falling for Chat! I know that many people ship MariChat but I won't be writing too much about it. I** _ **do**_ **love the ship as well, but Marinette knows who he is so it kind of ruins the effect. Still, there** _ **will**_ **be some scenes in future chapters if I remember to include them.**

 **The first part of the contest is coming up soon, you only have about three chapters of waiting by now, since we** _ **do**_ **need to get through the weekend first.**

 **Anyways, that's it from me!**

 **Enjoy! (I don't know why I keep on writing this at the end; you all have probably read the chapter already, there's nothing more to enjoy! I'm going to keep doing it though, it became a habit. Bye!)**


	8. Saturday

_**Chapter 8:**_ _ **(2865 words)**_

The next day was a Saturday, and the first thing Chloe did after waking up was reaching for her phone and texting her first ever friend.

 _ **\- 7:03AM – Adrien.A**_

 _ **Chloe.B -**_ **hey Adrien**

 _ **Chloe.B -**_ **im busy today but u can go 2 maris house 2 help**

 _ **\- 7:08AM**_

 _ **Chloe.B -**_ **is that ok?**

 _ **\- 7:16AM**_

 _ **Chloe.B -**_ **i know you dont have shoots til l8r**

 _ **\- 7:21AM**_

 _ **Chloe.B -**_ **adrien!**

 _ **\- 7:24AM**_

 _ **Adrien.A -**_ **I'm here!**

 _ **\- 7:22AM**_

 _ **Adrien.A -**_ **I was walking around the house and I left my phone in my room.**

 _ **\- 7:27AM**_

 _ **Chloe.B -**_ **i was wondering where u were**

 _ **Chloe.B -**_ **so u can go?**

 _ **\- 7:29AM**_

 _ **Adrien.A -**_ **Yeah I can.**

 _ **\- 7:30AM**_

 _ **Chloe.B -**_ **great! :D**

 _ **\- 7:32AM**_

 _ **Adrien.A -**_ **Why do you want me to go so badly?**

 _ **\- 7:34AM**_

 _ **Chloe.B -**_ **u probs dont realise it yet but u like her ;D**

 _ **Chloe.B -**_ **youre welcome ;D**

 _ **Adrien.A -**_ **Chloe you're crazy**

 _ **\- 7:37AM**_

 _ **Adrien.A -**_ **But thank you ;)**

 _ **Chloe.B -**_ **of course**

 _ **\- 7:39AM**_

 _ **Chloe.B -**_ **c u on Monday**

 _ **\- 7:41AM**_

 _ **Adrien.A -**_ **See you then! Bye!**

She sighed fondly.

She'd be lying if she said that she wasn't surprised at his acceptance of having a crush on the black-haired girl.

Maybe he had already figured it out before she'd have to tell him? Wait… what if he found out about Marinette's crush on him? Nah, it seemed like he liked her, not the other way around. And anyway, she was becoming a lot less obvious.

It seemed like her crush had… well, not died down, but it seemed like she could control herself better.

Chloe wondered what could have made her feel comfortable around her first ever friend.

But enough of thinking!

She had to get ready for the ceremony of opening this new park. She would much rather spend her time with her two friends but she _was_ the mayor's daughter. She had to do what was asked of her.

She sighed sadly. At least Adrien and Marinette would get some alone time.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

It was almost eight in the morning and Marinette had woken up two hours previously in a heap on the floor, as she had passed out from exhaustion.

When she had woken up, she ate a breakfast of some bread and milk, and she opened the shop at seven, half an hour earlier than normal.

She didn't know why she did. Maybe she was tired of sewing?

Either way, she was standing behind the till, waiting for the usual Saturday customers to come in. She was also waiting for Adrien to show up. Even though she knew that he was a sucker for cat puns, she was still really excited to see him again. Actually, it was more of a nervous feeling. She didn't know how to explain it, but she did know that it was to do with the crush she had on the alley cat.

She was still shaking her head fondly at her silly memories of Chat Noir when Adrien's limousine pulled up outside.

He knocked on the door and Marinette waved at him from behind the till. Then she walked over to the door and opened it for him, and greeted, "Good morning, Adrien. Why are you here so early?"

She had a point.

It was around a quarter past seven, and he looked like he was wide awake. "I just couldn't wait, and anyway, the bakery opens at half past, so if anything, I'm on time," he winks at her and goes to put on an apron.

Marinette blushed lightly at the wink and soon went to follow him inside.

"Soooooo, how are you?" she asked politely as she began making some bread, more out of boredom than because she was running low on it.

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. It's really lonely back in the mansion." She had noticed his non-use of the word 'home', and had wondered if it was on purpose or not. "I'd much rather spend the day here, but I have a photoshoot later at two."

He sighed sadly as he finished tying the apron and walked over to stand behind the till.

It was about twenty-past seven now and no one was going to come in for a good few minutes. "Sorry, it'll be a bit boring for a while."

He looked at her and she seemed nervous as to what his reaction should be.

Adrien walked over to where she was standing, near the front by the door so that she was ready to greet any customers, and put his hand on her shoulder. He blushed himself and Marinette wondered why. _'Does he know that I'm Ladybug? He can't possibly like… me?'_

He smiled softly at her. "It's okay. We can just talk while we wait. You can design the outfits while we do it?" he grinned at her and awaited her response.

She swatted his hand off of her shoulder and put her hands on her hips. She herself was wearing an apron that she had made herself. It was white with a pink border around the edges, her signature sign of her work, her name in gold, on the bottom. "No, Adrien. You will just have to wait until Monday to see the suit I designed for you. Sorry, not sorry."

Marinette smirked at him and went back to making some bread. He followed her and asked, "Can you teach me?"

"Hmm?" she looked up to see him looking nervous to be asking her about this.

"To bake?"

Her questioning frown turned into a comforting smile and she took out some more ingredients for Adrien. She taught him how to bake plain bread and wrote the recipe down along the way, in case he needed it later.

An incident with the flour resulted in him being caked in the white stuff.

He almost looked like a snowman and Marinette was doubling over with laughter. She made him wash it off, and she showed him where the bathrooms were on the second floor.

"I'm going to check if anyone's here yet. Take your time." she told him.

When Marinette reached the first floor again, a woman who seemed to be in her mid-thirties entered the bakery, the bell ringing loudly. Her hair was a dark brown and was tied back to a long plait with the front being a fringe. She was naturally pretty, and had light brown eyes. "Oh, hello Marinette. Is Sabine there?"

"No, sorry. She and dad went on a business trip to Britain. What do you need?"

"Oh, are you all alone, dear? Did you have to make everything yourself? Oh, and you must have so much homework from school, dear," she fussed over the girl.

The woman was a family friend, called Aurélie Marseille. She came in every once in a while to check up on the little bakery and the family running it. She was especially fond of Marinette, and fully supported her dreams of becoming a world-famous fashion designer. The family were such close friends with her that Marinette even called her 'Aunt'.

"It's fine, Aunt Aurélie, I get by. They come back on Monday anyway. And I'm not on my own," her light blush did not go un-missed by the middle-aged woman.

The woman was a florist, and was friends with the akuma from Tuesday. She smirked at her 'adoptive' niece. "Is it a boy?"

Marinette's eyes widened. "Wh-what?! No! I m-mean yeah? I-I-I…" She took in a deep breath. "It is a boy. And yes, I do like him 'like that'. It isn't just him, though. My other friends come by too."

Aurélie's smirk widened. Marinette groaned when she spotted it and continued. "It is just him at the moment, though. Please, don't embarrass me. Please!"

Marinette had her hands held in a praying position, and she was looking up, since Aurélie was very tall. "Fine, fine, fine."

Marinette's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "But…?"

"But I still want to meet him!"

"Ugh, fine!" Marinette smiled at the woman. She really liked Aurélie since she was like the fun aunt that everyone wants. She acts more like a teenager than a thirty-five-year-old woman. Marinette shook her head fondly and heard Adrien coming down the steps.

"Hey, Mari? Has anyone come in yet?"

Aurélie looked at Marinette with a self-satisfied smirk and went to stand next to the black-haired girl.

"Yeah, this is Aurélie Marseille. She's a family friend, kind of like an aunt, but not, y'know. She's like an older version of Alya, really."

"Are you calling me old?" the woman poked Marinette's side.

"No, no! I said older! _Older,_ " Marinette screeched when Aurélie began tickling her.

"Well… I'm Adrien. Nice to meet you, Aurélie," he stuck out his hand to the woman.

Aurélie stopped tickling Marinette and walked up to the blond so that she could shake his hand, "So polite! You're quite a catch, don't let her forget it," she whispered the last sentence.

He blushed slightly at her words and nodded, "Yeah, okay. Well, do you want something?"

"Well, I should probably get going soon, but I can't leave without some pie, now, can I?" she grinned at the black-haired girl.

Marinette rolled her eyes as Adrien asked what kind of pie. The whole ordeal was full of blushing and awkward moments, curtesy of Aurélie. Adrien found that he quite liked the tall woman. She was fun to be around and never let the room stay silent for long. Marinette was right, she kind of is like an older version of Alya. The two would get along spectacularly!

Finally, Aurélie left the bakery and the two teens alone. It was now around eight, and regular customers should be coming in soon.

The day was quite ordinary, until around ten in the morning.

There were no customers in the shop, and Adrien had stopped Marinette to talk to her. "Hey, Mari? Can I speak to you for a moment?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, sure."

He led them to the back room, where the kitchen was. "So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked nervously.

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious. I just didn't realise that you were ticklish!" He grinned cunningly and began tickling her with a vengeance, it was even worse than when Aurélie did it to her. She couldn't stop giggling.

After about a minute of this, Adrien released her and she took off running back to the front. He grinned and run off after her. He had to resist calling out after her with Chat Noir's nickname of her.

"Adrien, stop!" she screamed as she ran around the shop, Adrien close behind.

Suddenly, he stopped running after her and stood still with the smirk of a predator on his face. She had never seen anything so… Chat Noir on his face before. It hit her, like a train hits the random hostage that was tied up by the villain and placed on the train tracks. Adrien _really was_ Chat Noir.

Adrien looked at Marinette. She was running away from him, screaming about something or another, and then she looked back; probably to see if he was right behind her, and then…

She stopped running and stared at him, deep in thought.

He stopped running as well, and the grin on his face that he didn't even realise was there faded away, and she snapped out of her weird daze.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked her worriedly.

She looked into his eyes and nodded slowly after a few moments of silence. "Yeah, I think I am. Sorry, just… zoned out for a second there."

He smiled at her in a comforting manner and led them both to behind the till, just in case some customer entered the shop and found two teenagers standing awkwardly in silence. That would have not been good for business.

Marinette was still standing awkwardly in silence, glancing at him every once in a while.

"Hey, Mari? If I did something to make you uncomfortable, I'm sorry," he looked really nervous and ashamed of himself, and Marinette never wanted to see that again.

It broke her heart into little pieces, and she walked over the him silently and gave him a hug; the biggest, strongest most comforting hug she could muster, and whispered, "You could never make me uncomfortable, Adrien. I just zoned out, promise. You did nothing wrong."

She was rubbing his back and he hugged tighter at her words, "Thanks, Mari. I'm really glad that we became friends."

It was a good thing that they were hugging, because that meant that Adrien couldn't see Marinette's cheeks flush bright red. She just squeezed him tighter so he wouldn't let go and when she finally felt her cheeks feel less hot, she let go.

She looked up at him and smiled joyfully, "I'm glad that we became friends too!"

Marinette then turned around and strolled to the front of the room to see if anyone was coming. It's a good thing too, because, though she didn't know, Adrien's cheeks were a rosy pink colour.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

It was about half past one now.

They had eaten some leftovers that Marinette had heated up, and many customers came in, though when there weren't any, they talked about anything and everything, with Adrien tickling her some more sometimes.

She didn't zone out any more so he assumed that he really didn't do anything wrong, which was good. He didn't know what he would do if he hurt his princess.

They were growing closer by the minute, which they were both delighted in.

When they could actually speak to each other, they really were perfect friends, balancing each other out. _'Kind of like Ladybug and Chat Noir,'_ Marinette rolled her eyes. She wasn't wrong though. Especially since they _were_ Ladybug and Chat Noir, but Adrien didn't know that. Well, maybe he did.

She wouldn't find out until one of them reveals themselves to the other.

Adrien had to leave soon, since the photoshoot began in half an hour, so he had already called his driver to pick him up.

"Uhh, thanks for having me over, Mari. I really enjoyed it," he grinned nervously at her.

She sighed amusedly at his nervousness. She walked over to where he was - by the front, waiting for his taxi - and gave him a hug, the second one of the day.

He sighed in relief and saw the limousine pull up outside.

"Well, I have to go now. I'll see you on Monday though, good luck with the outfits," he waved at her as he opened the door.

She smiled a little love-sick smile from how thoughtful he was to wish her good luck, and waved back as he left the bakery and entered his limousine.

Marinette sighed once more, and stood behind the till, wishing that she could be upstairs, finishing off the outfits.

The bell rang.

' _I guess that'll have to wait,'_ she thought miserably and went to tend to the new customer.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

At that moment, Adrien sat back when he entered the limousine, expecting the journey back to the mansion to be smooth with no interruptions. Boring, like always.

However, instead of that, when he reached the mansion and the limousine pulled up, he was about to open the door when the driver, he just called him 'Gorilla', gave him a weird look, raising his eyebrow, which Adrien returned, "Yes?"

"Was that your girlfriend? You know your father won't approve," the Gorilla told him with a bit of anger for the restricting man.

That's when the man's words registered in his brain. By the time he responded a millisecond later, he was incredibly red, "Wh-what?! No! No, we're not dating at all! Where'd you get _that_ idea?!"

Gorilla just chuckled at his reaction and the two got out of the limousine, "Adrien, it's obvious that you like her, and you two were definitely acting like a couple."

Oh, that just made him blush even more, if possible.

The Gorilla just chuckled once more and rolled his eyes while leading Adrien inside the building.

Adrien wondered how many times he was going to have this conversation for the next few days… or weeks… or months.

His crushes were difficult to predict.

He just landed splat on his bed while ignoring the cheese monst– no, sorry, _Plagg_ –'s complaints at his lack of cheese.

When the kwami saw his chosen's expression of confusion and lovesickness all rolled in one, he knew he wasn't getting any cheese from this lump anytime soon, so he sighed and zipped over to the kitchen, gossiping to the love of his life, cheese, about all of the stupid romance going on.

He knew it wouldn't be long for him to see Tikki again, what with the progress those two lovebirds are making.

He rolled his eyes and huffed, " _Romance!_ "

 **A/N: Not much happened this chapter, other than Mari working her butt off and having some adorkable fluff! I** _ **do**_ **love fluff, after all, it seems impossible for me to write angst, well, except for that time in school where there was a Creative Writing Competition and I wrote about Hitler and the concentration camps with all the death and fear.**

 **Oh well, we were learning about them in History class and I was inspired, if you were wondering why, which you probably weren't. I'm telling you anyway!**

 **Well, see you next week, enjoy! (I told you! ;D)**


	9. Sunday

_**Chapter 9:**_ _ **(2109 words)**_

Sunday morning was just an ordinary day to the superheroes of Paris.

Chat Noir was staying at home, having an entire day booked with photoshoots. He honestly didn't know how he was going to survive the day.

Ladybug was just doing what she's already been doing for the past two days, running her parents' bakery and sewing up the rest of the outfits for the following day.

In her opinion, they looked fabulous.

She had finished the three dresses that she was supposed to make, had started Nino's suit and had almost finished making Adrien's suit.

So far, she was extremely proud of the result with the outfits.

Not looking forward to the day of running the bakery by herself and sewing up some outfits _again,_ she took a walk and left the closed sign on the bakery door. She was coming back in a quarter of an hour anyway, and most people collected what they needed on the previous two days.

Marinette strolled merrily to the park, happy to finally have a moment of peace, not that she didn't have fun with her friends the past two days.

Sometimes everyone needs a moment of quiet in their lives.

When she reached they park, she realised that it was mostly empty.

The only people there were cameramen and… Adrien!

Was it stupid to miss someone that you had seen yesterday and would see the following day anyway? Probably, but she didn't care.

"Adrien? Hi!" she waved at him from behind the cameraman.

He looked confused for a second but then he saw her and waved back, his face going from grim to delighted.

The cameraman turned around and saw the black-haired girl, and raised an eyebrow at Adrien, "So who may this be, _Monsieur_ Adrien?"

The boy in question blushed slightly, though Marinette was too busy looking at his clothes. "Is this a photoshoot for the Spring Collection, _Monsieur_?"

The cameraman looked back at her and she had a look of curiosity and wonder on her face. He smiled kindly at the sweet girl and nodded at her, Adrien had his jaw-dropped since his cameraman didn't usually take to people so quickly. "Yes, _Madame_ , it is the Spring Collection, and such a wonderful season it is, don't you think?"

She nodded quickly and responded, "It is, though I always liked Winter the most. I find it fascinating to try and find clothes to match with the snow and the usual Christmas colours."

The cameraman nodded at her words and looked back at Adrien, who had resumed his delighted face it seeing Marinette again. He missed her just as much as she had missed him, though he didn't know that.

"So? Who is this delightful young lady, _Monsieur_ Adrien?" the cameraman asked him.

"Oh, that's Marinette. We go to school together," he smiled at the black-haired girl while the cameraman was looking at the both of them, an eyebrow raised.

He then had a wondrous idea.

" _Madame_ , would you like to stay for a few more minutes. Adrien always looks so bored at these photoshoots but you magically made such thoughts disappear," the cameraman whispered in her ear.

She gasped in delight and nodded like a lunatic. The cameraman just laughed and Adrien smiled sweetly at her.

She went to sit on a nearby bench, somewhere close to Adrien so that he could still see her, as she kept the cameraman's words in mind.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

It was about half an hour later when the photoshoot ended. It would normally take longer but the cameraman had taken such fashionable photographs of Adrien, curtesy of Marinette, that it had ended an hour earlier than expected.

It was around ten in the morning, and Marinette realised that the bakery should have opened almost three hours ago.

She was in a fit of panic before coming to her senses.

Marinette turned to give Adrien a hug, which was quickly becoming their normal way of saying goodbye, and she waved at the cameraman before running off to the bakery. Luckily, no one was there and no one left any angry notes, which meant that she hadn't lost any customers due to not being there.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

His photoshoot had ended an hour earlier than it was expected to, and it was all thanks to Marinette. That girl could move mountains if she wanted to.

Adrien was just changing his clothes back to what he normally wears, and gives them back to one of the people who work for his dad. He walked over to the cameraman and shook his hand. He thanked him for his time and before he could turn to leave, the cameraman stopped him.

"Excuse, me?" the man told him.

"Yes?" Adrien asked him, not sure whether to be happy or worried. What if his father was mad at him, or something was wrong with the photos and he had to do the photoshoot all over again. Now _that_ would be horrible.

"I just want to talk to you about that sweet girl that visited us earlier," he smirked.

Adrien blushed slightly, hoping that it would not be seen, but it did not go un-missed by the cameraman. "You mean Marinette?"

The cameraman nodded and continued, "I'm not going to assume, but I'm pretty sure that you… uhh, how do I say… _like_ her," his smirk widened.

Adrien's blush deepened and he coughed awkwardly, "Umm, maybe?"

"Ah ha! I knew it!" the cameraman jumped with joy.

It was Adrien's turn to raise his eyebrow, "You're… okay? With this?"

The cameraman looked him in the eye and put his hand on Adrien's shoulder.

The man gave him a small yet comforting smile and whispered, "Of course, _Monsieur._ "

He shook his head fondly as Adrien looked at him curiously, wondering what he would say next.

"Young love is a beautiful thing, and I can tell that she is perfect for you. _Monsieur_ , you have my stamp of approval!"

Adrien's blush deepened even further, but he smiled with relief that he could see her at photoshoots without problem, since people always did what the cameraman needed. And if he needed to have Marinette there, then Marinette would stay, no question.

"Thank you, _Monsieur_. I have to go now, but I really do appreciate your kind words, thank you. I'll see you on Tuesday!"

Adrien then turned around to walk away but then he turned around once more and hugged the cameraman for a second before pulling out of it and smiling to the man.

He then turned around again and walked to the limousine that had just pulled up.

Adrien spent the entire journey to the next photoshoot wondering what Marinette was doing at that moment, and what Ladybug was doing as well.

She was probably in her civilian form at the moment, doing whatever she does when in her civilian form. He doesn't know, and it's not like she'll tell him, what with how set she is with hiding their identities.

Then he thought of Marinette, the sweet pig-tailed girl was probably in the bakery that he was just in the previous day, tickling her and spending valuable time with her.

He wondered how long it would last, having two girls that he was in love with. Eventually, he'll want to date one of them, he just hoped that the day will never come. He is split evenly between the two and had no idea which one he _would_ choose if it came to it.

If he wanted to date Marinette, he would have to reveal himself to her. He doesn't want to start a relationship on lies.

What if he wanted to date Ladybug? They would both have to reveal themselves to each other, which seems like something unlikely to happen, but he didn't care if she didn't want to. If they agreed to date, he would reveal himself, whether she agreed to that part or not. He really didn't want to start a relationship on lies.

It's just unhealthy, and he'll have to tell whoever he dates eventually, especially if they last. And if he does reveal who he is after a long time, he'll lose their trust.

Well, maybe not Ladybug's since she would be going through the same thing.

Then that brought him to his thoughts of a few days ago. _'I wonder if Ladybug likes some civilian guy and wants to reveal herself like I want to reveal myself to Marinette.'_ They were deep thoughts and he was at a dead end.

What was going to happen at the auditions?

What if the suit that Marinette designed for him will make him look more like Chat Noir and she figures it out. Ladybug would be furious, and he definitely doesn't want that.

The limousine then pulled up at a tall skyscraper from another part of the city. Paris _was_ huge, after all.

He got out and wondered if the singing contest was going to change something between him and Marinette, or him and Ladybug.

Whatever happens, he was looking forward to spending some time with his favourite ladies in the near future.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

She entered the bakery and turned the closed sign around so that it told anyone outside that the bakery was open, and she put on an apron to show that she worked here.

Or, y'know, at least bake here.

Marinette rushed upstairs and set up a kind of monitor thing so that she could hear when the bell rings, and she then began sewing some more, needing to finish two suits today.

Taking breaks for lunch and dinner, she worked as hard as she could.

Luckily, she was very close and it was a very quiet day, so she only needed to work about half an hour more on Nino's suit and it would be finished. She had finished Adrien's suit a few hours ago and was very close to finishing Nino's.

She then realised that it was eleven, and that first auditions were the following day.

Marinette needed to sleep, and she still needed to finish Nino's suit, so she had decided to sleep now, and set her alarm earlier.

Her parents were coming home the next day anyway, so she didn't need to stress as much, there was going to be no more responsibilities, and she couldn't wait.

She would be free tomorrow.

There was going to be no more outfit making, and definitely no more running a bakery, that was exhausting. The next day seemed like a bank holiday to her. She was so excited that she fell asleep to the song she was going to sing the following day.

She wondered how it would go, if she would get in. If any of her friends- Adrien, Alya, Nino, Chloe- would pass auditions.

She sure hoped so, she really wanted a duet with Adrien.

It would be even better if it was a love song, but she was 99% sure that he didn't feel that way. Well, for _her_ anyway.

She was certain that he definitely felt that way for Ladybug, but she always felt like her civilian self was her true self, that Ladybug was just something she had no choice in being. She never wanted to be Ladybug, but she had to, and now, she wouldn't swap her miraculous for the world, but Ladybug would always be somebody she wasn't.

At least, that's how she felt most of the time. She did know that no matter what, it was always her under the mask, and that she could be confident and have leadership skills as Marinette as well.

She just wants Chat Noir, or Adrien, it doesn't matter, they're the same person, she just wants her kitty to love both sides of her, just like she loves both sides of him.

It kind of seems like Adrien likes Marinette. In what way? She doesn't know, but she is hopeful.

She still wasn't sure if Adrien was Chat, but she was pretty sure, and he's the only person that she knows that makes the most sense, especially with what he tells Ladybug about his strict father and schedule, and his appearance is exactly the same, too.

It's kind of obvious, really. Honestly, she's surprised that he hasn't even figured out that _she_ was Ladybug. She has the same hair, the same eyes, and, although she doesn't really believe it, the same personality.

She sighed in her bed as her thoughts went all over the place.

' _At least I'll get to hear him sing tomorrow,'_ she smirks to herself as her eyes gradually closed due to her exhaustion.

' _I can't wait.'_

 **A/N: I'm soooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry that it's a day late. I honestly have no excuse other than forgetting to do it! I am the most forgetful person I know, so I'm sorry that it's so late.**

 **Next chapter is the Monday! Auditions! Are any of you excited? I know** _ **I**_ **am, even though I wrote it myself.**

 **Oh well, there's not much to write about this chapter, it was just filler and Adrien getting the approval of his cameraman he talks to almost every day. I always saw the cameraman as some kind of fun uncle for Adrien, though he's strict during photoshoots. Adrien needs a father-figure! It** _ **would**_ **be better if his** _ **actual father**_ **did that instead, but the cameraman is a good consolation prize.**

 **Well that's it, I like these author notes at the end of the story, it's a way for me to interact with you all!**

 **Anyways, enough of that, enjoy (having to wait another week :D)!**


	10. Monday - Part 1

_**Chapter 10:**_ _ **(3231 words)**_

Monday morning went by quickly for one Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

She woke up at six. She didn't set her alarm for six but she woke up then anyway. It was a good thing too; Nino's outfit took a bit longer than she thought, just less than an hour.

She was looking forward to seeing her parents again, but that was the moment when she received a text on her phone, making it light up in the dimly lit room.

 _ **\- 6:49AM – Maman**_

 _ **Maman -**_ **Hello, pumpkin. I know that it's probably sunny and warm there in France but it's snowing here in Britain. Our flight's been cancelled and I don't know when we'll be able to get back. Think you can take a few more days?**

 _ **\- 6:53AM**_

 _ **Maman -**_ **Your father and I know that you can be strong, but we understand how stressful it is since we do work there. We can call Aurélie to man the bakery if it's needed.**

 _ **\- 6:55AM**_

 _ **Maman -**_ **I'm sorry, Pumpkin.**

 _ **Pumpkin -**_ **It's fine maman**

 _ **\- 6:56AM**_

 _ **Pumpkin -**_ **Though I wouldnt mind Aurélie stopping by! ;)**

 _ **\- 6:59AM**_

 _ **Maman -**_ **I'm glad that everything is going well, but I know that you have that singing contest. Are you sure that you'll be fine?**

 _ **\- 7:01AM**_

 _ **Pumpkin -**_ **Yeah maman it'll be fine**

 _ **Pumpkin -**_ **See you when you come back!**

It's hard to tell from the texts but Marinette was freaking out.

She was so stressed and the bakery was supposed to be open. She'll just have to leave it closed until she comes back.

Auditions were after school, and will probably take one or two hours, so the bakery won't be open until almost six, most likely. She doesn't think that she can take another day of working so hard with so little sleep.

She was in such a panic that she ran outside to the park that she went to the previous day, which was right in front of the bakery, and she started to cry on one of the benches there.

Luckily, she had put on clothes so she didn't just go outside running about with her pyjamas on; that would have gained the attention of a few judgemental looks.

Marinette hoped that no one would find her there, that would be so embarrassing, and she would have to explain why she was crying in the first place. She was just hoping that she'd stop crying before someone came to the park. It was still early, most people would be waking up at this time, really.

Even though she was Lady Luck, she really wasn't that lucky.

She had her knees up to her face and she had her hands wrapping around her head, so she didn't know who those footsteps that she was hearing belonged to.

"Mari?"

God, that was Chat's voice. Or Adrien's voice? It was hard to tell, they were the same person. He ran over to where she was and got on one knee. Or both knees. She couldn't tell just from the noise.

To make sure that she didn't call out the wrong person, she lifted her head slightly to see if he was transformed or not.

In front of her was Adrien Agreste on one knee in front of her. _'Well that's a sight I never thought I'd see.'_

"Mari?! What's wrong?" he rushed. She couldn't lie to him.

"Um…" she sniffed a bit, though tears were still running down her face, "my parents texted me," she sniffed again, "they're not," another sniff, "they're not coming today."

"Were they supposed to?"

Unable to respond because of the excessive number of tears on her face, she simply nodded to the question.

"Oh, are you stressed?" another nod from the black-haired girl and his frown deepened. He was extremely worried for the girl in front of him, and he never wanted to see her hurt again. "I'll come after school, like Friday. I only have photoshoots tomorrow so I'm free. That way, we can pick songs."

He smiled at her in a comforting manner and held out his hand as her tears faltered slightly. "Yeah," sniff, "I'd like that."

Marinette smiled back and took his hand so she could stand up. She used her sleeve to wipe off the majority of the tears on her face and she quickly jumped on Adrien, hugging him tightly in thanks.

This resulted in them falling on the floor but they didn't care.

He then began tickling her and the whole thing became a competition of Adrien tickling her and Marinette squeezing him as tight as she could and screeching out for him to stop.

After a few minutes of this, they suddenly realised that they were in a public space and stopped. That just left them lying on the floor, Marinette lying down next to him on the grass. They were both breathing heavily and Marinette's cheeks were flushed red from the energy that she used in the silly competition.

"Soooooo… can I see the outfits?" he asked cheekily, grin in place.

She glared at him, "No, no you can't. You'll just have to wait until later, I guess."

He then glared as she smirked triumphantly. "Come on, Mari," he told her and then he stood up and held out a hand. "It must be about half seven by now. Do you want me to go with you to the bakery?"

"Sure, come on," she grabbed his hand and used it to stand up again.

They then went to walk over to the bakery as Marinette explained in more depth why she was crying, especially since she could speak now.

She gave him some bread and jam, "Mari, you do realise that I'm on a model diet."

She just waved a hand at him and snorted, "As far as I can tell, you don't want to be on one. And anyway, you used up a lot of energy with what we were doing outside, you need the energy."

Adrien's eyes widened at her resourcefulness, it was just like Ladybug's. God, why did he have to fall for two resourceful, sassy, strong women? They were practically identical! How was he supposed to choose? "Good point," he rushed quickly when he realised that he had just been staring at her. He then resolved to eat the bread and jam and god was it good.

"Marinette," he began, "This… this is incredible!"

She blushed at his praise, "Thanks."

They were sitting on the counter of the bakery when Aurélie walked in.

"Hello, Marinette, dear. And you too, Adrien," she cheerfully greeted them.

She then turned to Marinette and told her, "Your mother told me what happened. They're probably not coming until Wednesday, so I'm going to help out in the mornings, okay?"

Marinette grinned with relief and nodded furiously, pleased that she was going to get some help, though she doesn't mind spending some alone time messing around with Adrien, but you can't have everything.

She turned to the boy that she was previously thinking about and stated, "I'm going to get the outfits and I'm putting them in body bags so you can't see them until later."

Marinette winked at him, using the eye that Aurélie couldn't see and she raced up the stairs so that she could get a move on, school would be starting soon, after all. What she didn't know was that she caused Adrien to blush slightly, she didn't see it though, but Aurélie did.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

While she was upstairs, Aurélie questioned Adrien about their 'relationship'. He just blushed some more and answered, "Uhh… um, there is none."

She smirked at him and raised an eyebrow, "And would you like for there to be one?"

His eyes widened and his blush deepened, "Uhh… maybe?"

Aurélie then burst out laughing, apparently finding his answer amusing, "Oh, god. Kid, you're so obvious that it hurts."

"Yeah, I know, but I still don't think that she knows," he sighed hopelessly, though he smiled when the woman before him called him 'kid', since she reminded him of Plagg.

She walked over and put her hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry. She'll figure it out eventually. Just don't lose hope."

Aurélie smiled at him and he smiled back. His smile then turned into a confused frown, "I keep having this conversation with people."

She burst out laughing once more and asked, "Who? How many?"

"Well," he began, "about three, I guess, you're the fourth. First was Chloe, my other friend. Then my driver, who hardly speaks so I was quite surprised when he asked me about it, and then my photographer. Marinette was walking in the park where I was doing a photoshoot and the cameraman made her stay. Then when she left, he had the same talk that you're having with me."

Aurélie kept laughing.

He sighed as Marinette walked downstairs and asked for help with the outfits.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

Marinette had a kind of… inner wardrobe with wheels. Like, a pole with hangers on it. She then hung the five outfits that she made on there but it was too heavy to take it down herself so she needed help.

Eventually, she and Adrien got the outfits down to the bakery.

It was now about twenty minutes to school and customers were already collecting outside so Marinette and Adrien went to school as Aurélie tended the bakery.

Marinette set the outfits in a changing room for those who would be auditioning. Most will just buy some outfit and wear that, but she liked to go to the extreme. She just thought that this was taking it a little far. It's hard to make five outfits in such a short time, even with Adrien and Chloe's help.

"Hey, girl. Soooooo… how was your weekend?" Alya asked her when she entered the changing rooms. Alya thought that her best friend would be in here with her precious outfits, though she wasn't expecting Adrien to be there. Suspicious…

Marinette glanced at Adrien, though Alya didn't notice, and responded, "It was just fine. A little stressful because of the outfits and all, but it was fun," she smiled at Alya.

Alya have her a hug, "Aww, girl, you're so selfless to make all of us an outfit."

Nino and Chloe nodded. They entered just after Alya. Even Adrien nodded, Marinette just sighed though, "Not really. I made myself an outfit anyway."

The other four laughed at her comment and tried to sneak a peek at the outfits but Marinette was a ruthless guard and would only let them wear it when auditions were about to start. "Please! For me!"

She gave them her puppy-dog-eyes and they all groaned. "You can't just use your secret weapon, Mari!" Adrien complained.

Marinette just giggled and waved her hand at him. Then she told them that they could have a nice long look when they were supposed to prepare, just before auditions.

The three others that weren't Marinette and Adrien looked on with interest at Mari's comfortable actions with the famous model. They really shouldn't be surprised, what with how much the black-haired girl had been speaking to him, but the action was still new and the knowledge that Mari could have done this more than once already didn't stop their eyes widening in curiosity and astonishment. Even Adrien's eyes widened slightly.

They decided to follow their friend's advice anyway and head to their lessons, looking forward to the auditions from after school.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

It was now half past four, the end of the normal school day, and the five friends were walking to the changing rooms, Marinette leading the way.

"You guys ready to see your new outfits?" she asked.

She received four noisy 'YEEESSSSS!'s and opened the door. She gave each person a body bag and told them to go into the individual changing rooms to put them on. "Don't look at them until you're inside. Then we'll walk out and see each other and what we look like. Good plan?"

"Yeah," Chloe told her and rushed inside to put on her dress.

The others soon followed and all around her, Marinette could hear gasps. Whether they were of delight or of disappointment, she didn't know, though she hoped it was the former.

She had decided against wearing the ladybug necklace, as Adrien would probably figure it out and she was too scared for that, so she had decided to just not wear any necklace. It was the safest thing to do, really.

Her mind was then brought back to the gasps and the now obvious noises that are from the fabrics used in the outfits.

"I take it that you guys like it?" she asked nervously.

Adrien was in the little room to her left but he stayed silent.

Alya was on her right though and she was gushing about how incredible it was, just like Chloe and Nino were. "I stuck a sheet of paper on the body bags that tells you things about the outfit, y'know, if you're curious," she informed them.

She was worried about what Adrien thought. _'Why didn't he say anything?'_

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

Adrien was in a panic, hence the silence.

His suit… was Chat Noir coloured. _'Did she figure it out? What made it obvious?'_

He was very clearly worried about what this meant. _'Maybe it's just a coincidence. Yeah, that has to be it. I mean, I wouldn't mind if Marinette knew, but Ladybug wouldn't like it at all.'_ He doesn't want to disappoint his lady, so he'll just not say anything about it.

He put it on and _, 'Wow, perfect fit. Marinette sure is a good clothes designer. She could give my father a run for his money.'_

He looked very stylish, but he still looked like Adrien, he noticed.

Adrien thought this because his hair was combed neatly unlike Chat Noir's messy hair, and he wasn't wearing a mask.

Very suddenly, he wanted to know what the others looked like. Especially Marinette.

He heard her tell everyone, "You guys ready to see each other?"

He heard murmurs of agreement around the group and he heard Marinette's door unlock, so he did the same to his.

He stepped out and looked at everyone…

And he instantly forgot that everyone was there because, _'Wow… Marinette, she looks like a… an angel! Y'know, in a red dress… but still! She looks so pretty like that. It's like she's trying to kill me!'_

His jaw was figuratively dropped, but he was lucky he had at least a bit of self-control. He just blushed slightly, and he was lucky that Marinette didn't realise.

She was too busy checking to outfits of everyone else, checking if they fit and if they were happy with it.

So far, everyone was delighted, and it wasn't going to end anytime soon.

The problem was that Chloe saw him blushing slightly, but Marinette taught her so well that she was kind enough to not tell Nino and Alya, and especially Marinette, that would be so incredibly embarrassing.

Alya was wearing a Pocahontas inspired dress, it was dark orange and was one-sleeved, he couldn't explain dresses in designer 'language', like Marinette, or his father.

Chloe was wearing a princess dress that touched the floor and the top part was covered in… what was it called? Lace? He wasn't sure, the only thing he did now was that she was rocking the yellow, it went well with her hair, he thought. And he sure hoped that it was her who bought that jewellery and not Marinette, that stuff is expensive!

Nino wore a suit like him, it seemed black but if you look closer, it was actually dark blue.

He had an orange tie, and it actually went well together with the dark blue, and it matched Alya without most realising it if they were apart. It was a well-thought-out detail, one that only Marinette would think of.

And speaking of the girl, her dress was… red! It matched her very well, even better than pink does, he was pretty sure.

It was one of those dresses when you turn and it goes up and looks like a tutu when it's spinning around. He loved dresses like that, they always seem so fun!

She was wearing the ear-rings that she always wears, the ones that look familiar somehow.

He couldn't even think straight, all he knew was that Marinette was the most beautiful person that he has ever had the pleasure of seeing.

Except Ladybug. Well… actually, they tie. They both wear red and they are both so beautiful.

Marinette turned to look at him after checking everyone else. "Umm… do you? Like it, I mean."

He snapped out of his little daze and turned to look at the girl that he was just thinking about, "Uhh, yeah! It's wonderful! I love it!"

Adrien gave her a big smile that be thought was going to be fake because he was that worried at having Ladybug angry at him for accidentally having someone know his identity, but it was real, because, to be honest, the suit was perfect.

She probably didn't know, right?

Black and green was just the colour that he went with best. Marinette was a designer, it must just be a coincidence!

Lots of people in Paris look good in black and green, and have blonde hair, and bright green eyes. He just happened to be one of them. Doesn't mean that _he's_ Chat Noir, everyone thought that he was too reserved for that.

Yeah, Marinette just thought that he looked paw-some in black and green, that's all.

The black-haired girl looked around the group and nodded to herself. Then she checked the clock on the wall and announced, "Okay guys, it's twenty to five, auditions start in five minutes. Let's go!"

Everyone nodded and they made their way to the big room that had a stage.

It was usually used for assemblies or big contests, and the singing competition was one of those, so anyone who wanted to audition should go there at quarter to five.

They reached the theatre room and saw over twenty other students from their school sitting in the chairs near the front. The judges had special chairs at the back, so that it's easier to judge how loud that those who are auditioning can sing.

There were three judges: Mr. Damocles, the principal of their school; Françoiz Breut, a famous Parisian songwriter; and also, Etienne de Crecy, another famous songwriter. She's famous for dance music.

Most of the students sitting down on the seats were looking back to see their favourite musicians, while the five friends went to sit down.

Mr. Damocles would announce who would go next and what song they would sing, and then the three judges would hold up a number, one to ten; one being the worst and ten being the best.

Marinette was nervous.

Sure, she could be confident, and she had sung in front of her friends and they thought that she was positively brilliant, but still.

Singing in front of others was nerve-wracking and she was sure that the others thought the same way as her.

They sat down and waited patiently for their turn.

 **A/N: Okay, so no songs this chapter, sorry to disappoint. There will definitely be songs the next chapter though, and the majority of that chapter** _ **will**_ **be songs.**

 **I'm not from France, I only know a little bit of French and I've only been there two or three times when I was younger, around seven, so I don't know any famous French people to do with music. I had to search them online so I'm sorry if I got any information on them wrong.**

 **Anyways, see you next week, enjoy! (Hah! You have to wait a week! :D) (Sorry, I'm so rude! :'( ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' Tears!) (BYE!)**


	11. Monday - Part 2

_**Chapter 11:**_ _ **(4103 words)**_

The students already there calmed down and stayed silent as Mr. Damocles began to call up those who would be auditioning.

After three… average auditions, Mr. Damocles announced, "Next up, Chloe Bourgeois, who will be singing _'I Wonder'_ from the Disney movie, _'Sleeping Beauty'._

He then nodded to Chloe who had stood up at her name, and after the nod, she had walked up the stairs which were located on the side of the room so that she could stand on the stage.

The students and the judges' eyes widened at the masterpiece of the dress that she was wearing and the judges were sure to remember to ask where she got it from.

The music then kicked in and she began to sing in one of the best impressions of Sleeping Beauty Chloe's friends had ever heard. And Marinette had heard a lot of them to be honest.

 _ **-I wonder-**_

 _ **-I wonder-**_

 _ **-I wonder why each little bird has a someone-**_

Everyone was wearing jaw-dropped expressions, as they were not expecting the song to be sung in English, which a few of the students understood. Luckily, the judges all knew multiple languages, since one worked in a school and the other two likely toured around the world.

The judges were whispering to each other about something or another, the students who were auditioning were sat at the front of the room so they couldn't hear.

Chloe sang loudly and clearly, though she was still using the powerful voice that Princess Aurora has. This was a good sign as the judges would be able to hear her and she sang wonderfully, at least Marinette thought so.

 _ **-To sing to-**_

 _ **-Sweet things to-**_

 _ **-A gay little love melody-**_

The judges were back to nodding at the girl in the impressive dress. She tried very hard not to smile, and was succeeding because, like Adrien, she has had a lot of practice at concealing her true emotions.

Sure, she was always mean back then, but she was usually depressed or upset, and she had learned how to stop crying or to hide her sadness.

It was only let out when Marinette became her friend.

She pushed away the negative memories and continued to sing one of her favourite songs.

 _ **-I wonder-**_

 _ **-I wonder-**_

 _ **-If my heart keeps singing-**_

 _ **-Will my song go winging-**_

 _ **-To someone-**_

 _ **-Who'll find me-**_

 _ **-And bring back a love song to meeeeeeee-**_

The music then faded and applause took over, her four friends clapping as loudly as possible.

When the room came to silence, Chloe stood nervously on the stage.

She kept glancing to the judges, who were discussing her performance. Even though she wasn't going to sing with anyone and Marinette was sure to win the competition, she still really wanted to at least get through the auditions, kind of like a way to show her mother that she was strong, even without her.

Françoiz Breut looked at the nervous blonde and held up a seven. She then spoke, "I absolutely love the dress and the bling, and your voice was wonderful, perfect! I just wish that you would add some dance to it. That is all, thank you."

There was a small round of applause, and Chloe's nervousness did not disappear since it was a, though still good, disappointing score.

Mr. Damocles then held up an eight. "I agree with Ms. Breut, though I still thoroughly enjoyed the performance so I will give you an eight."

He then smiled proudly to the relieved blonde and motioned to the last judge to begin.

The last judge, Etienne de Crecy, then held up another seven, "It was a marvellous performance. I love the dress, the voice and the song itself, but I would so very much enjoy some dancing to go along with it, so for that, it is a seven."

Chloe held back her disappointed frown and smiled in thanks to the three judges, "Thank you for your time."

They nodded and she walked back down the stairs and to her friends, which wrapped her in a big hug. Well, Marinette and Alya did, since they were the two that were sitting beside her.

Marinette was sat in between Adrien and Chloe and Alya was sat in between Chloe and Nino.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

After two more performances, one that was average and one that kind of sucked, Mr. Damocles announced, "Next up, Alya Césaire, who will be singing _'Colours of the Wind'_ which is from the Disney movie, _'Pocahontas'._ "

He nodded to the girl and she strolled confidently up the stairs and onto the stage. Her outfit was incredibly well made, and the judges wanted to ask her where she got it from as well as Chloe. They'd do so after the auditions were over though, there was no point in keeping everyone in for longer when you only wanted to speak to two of them, right?

The music began to play and Alya began to sing.

 _ **-You think I'm an ignorant savage-**_

 _ **-And you've been so many places-**_

 _ **-I guess it must be so-**_

 _ **-But still I cannot see-**_

 _ **-If the savage one is me-**_

 _ **-How can there be so much that you don't know-**_

 _ **-You don't knooooowwwwwwww-**_

If the audience were surprised at her use of English, they didn't show it.

Her voice was better than average, and she was doing small motions with her hands at certain words, and the judges hoped that she would do better dance moves.

 _ **-You think you own whatever land you land on-**_

 _ **-The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim-**_

 _ **-But I know every rock and tree and creature-**_

 _ **-Has a life-**_

 _ **-Has a spirit-**_

 _ **-Has a name-**_

This was an incredibly famous song for its message, and so far, Alya was delivering the message wonderfully.

She was now moving her hands more noticeably.

Alya was walking around, though not much. It was still better dance moves though, and the judges were nodding along at good parts of the song. It was a well know song, and everyone knows it, after all, so almost everyone was mouthing along the words, even though it was in English.

 _ **-You think the only people who are people-**_

 _ **-Are the people who look and think like yooouuuuuuu-**_

 _ **-But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger-**_

 _ **-You'll learn things you never knew, you never knew-**_

 _ **-Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon-**_

 _ **-Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grins-**_

 _ **-Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain-**_

 _ **-Can you paint with all the colours of the wind-**_

 _ **-Can you paint with all the colours of the wind…-**_

The judges clapped at that point, though it was quiet. It was such a well sung moment and it deserved some praise though, so they decided to do it.

It was a beautiful message and Marinette was sure that if everyone in the room hadn't heard of it before, they certainly did now.

 _ **-Come run the hidden pine-trails of the forest-**_

 _ **-Come taste the sun-sweet berries of the Earth-**_

 _ **-Come roll in all the riches all around you-**_

 _ **-And for once, never wonder what they're worth-**_

 _ **-The rainstorm and the river are my brothers-**_

 _ **-The heron and the otter are my frieeeeeends-**_

 _ **-And we are all connected to each other-**_

 _ **-In a circle, in a hoop that never ends-**_

Marinette closed her eyes and mouthed along to the next two lines, which were one of her favourites, ever. Pocahontas and Mulan were her favourite Disney movies, what with them having a female heroine in it.

This did not go un-noticed by Adrien, who smiled a little love-sick smile at her, which in turn did not go un-noticed by Chloe, who smirked at him.

He rolled his eyes at the blonde and looked back to Alya.

 _ **-How high does the sycamore grow-**_

 _ **-If we cut it down, then we'll never know-**_

Marinette opened her eyes to see Adrien looking at Alya and Chloe smirking to herself about something.

The black-haired girl just shook her head and thought, _'Wow, I have weird friends. Still love them though.'_

She smiled at the end.

 _ **-And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon-**_

 _ **-Or whether we are white or copper-skinned-**_

 _ **-We need to sing with all the voices of the mountain-**_

 _ **-We need to paint with all the colours of the wind-**_

The judges had already begun to whisper to each other about things that went well and things that went wrong.

 _ **-You can own the Earth and still-**_

 _ **-All you'll own is Earth, until-**_

 _ **-You can paint, with all the colours of the wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind-**_

She had a large round of applause and Mr. Damocles held up a hand to silence it.

Françoiz Breut held up an eight and smiled at the relived girl, "Well, Miss. Césaire, that was a beautifully sung song, so thank you for that. You're wearing a lovely dress and the dancing suits the song, though you could have gone more out there, so for that, I'm giving you and eight."

Mr. Damocles nodded at the woman's words and held up an eight as well, "I have nothing to add on, so I will just say, well done."

Alya nodded at him and gave out a relieved little smile, she didn't have as much practice at hiding her emotions, since there was no real need to. Etienne de Crecy then held up a seven. "I would have liked to see a better choreographed dance, though the rest of the performance is spectacular."

Alya nodded once more and strolled over to her friends, though this time, it wasn't as confident as before.

She was given a hug as well, by Chloe and Nino. Nino gave her a kiss on the cheek, too.

She smiled at him and the five friends waited for the next person to audition.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

After six more performances, with four being average, one being horrible and another one being better than normal, Mr. Damocles announced once more, "Next up, Nino Lahiffe. He will be singing a song called… _'Never Ever Getting Rid of Me'_ , which is from a Broadway musical called… _'Waitress'._ "

It wasn't a very well-known musical, and apparently, Mr. Damocles had never heard of it because he had to read of a sheet of paper, when before, he could just glance down and know the full name.

For the third time that afternoon, the judges wished to ask from where he got the very well-tailored suit from.

When the song that he would sing was revealed, Chloe had to snorted and tried to hide her laughter; she was a big fan of musicals, and that was one of the reasons that she and Marinette became such good friends so quickly.

Marinette had to swat her arm so that she would stop, though Marinette was grinning too.

Then the music began to play and Nino grinned at Adrien, who hadn't heard the song yet, and the dark-haired boy started to sing along.

 _ **-Dawn…-**_

 _ **-I will never let you let me leave-**_

 _ **-I promise I'm not lying-**_

 _ **-Go ahead, ask anybody-**_

 _ **-Who has seen me trying-**_

 _ **-I'm-**_

 _ **-Not-**_

 _ **-Going-**_

 _ **-If it seems like I did-**_

 _ **-I'm prob'ly waiting outside-**_

There were already large amounts of laughter coming from the students. Even the judges were chuckling merrily at the comedy number. Him singing in English didn't stop anyone from laughing since the pure rhythm of the song screamed 'comedy number'.

Nino was moving around a lot, since Marinette showed him the scene of the musical when Odie sings the song, and though he could never dance as amazing as the actor who played him, he can still do some things.

Those things sure were making the audience laugh, including his friends.

 _ **-Such a stubborn man-**_

 _ **-You'll likely never meet another-**_

 _ **-When we have our family dinner-**_

 _ **-You can ask my mother-**_

 _ **-She's-**_

 _ **-The-**_

 _ **-Best-**_

 _ **-You'll learn more about her-**_

 _ **-On our family history test-**_

The laughter came back and bigger than before, since the audience was already laughing before, though it was getting quieter.

The song sure does fix that problem quickly.

 _ **-I'm gonna do this riiiiight-**_

 _ **-Show you I'm not moving-**_

 _ **-Wherever you go-**_

 _ **-I won't be far to follow-**_

 _ **-Oh, I'm gonna love you sooooo-**_

 _ **-You'll learn what I already know-**_

 _ **-I love you means your never ever ever getting rid of me-**_

Some members of the audience went 'aww' at the somewhat romantic line, including Alya, which made sense.

They rest just burst out laughing though, also including Alya after a few seconds.

 _ **-Yooouu can tryyyyy-**_

 _ **-Oh, but I…-**_

 _ **-I love you means your never ever ever getting rid of me-**_

 _ **-Not quite-**_

 _ **-Pie for everybody-**_

Most were confused at that but since the auditions were supposed to be sung on your own, those who were doing the music took away the voices of others, unless they were behind the main voice, in which they couldn't do anything.

It was still a funny line though, and those who had heard the song understood the silence and laughed like crazy.

 _ **-I grew up a lonely child-**_

 _ **-In the suburb of the city-**_

 _ **-I spent my days alone-**_

 _ **-My only friend was a stray kitty-**_

 _ **-Called Sardine-**_

 _ **-Yeah, I thought it was hilarious-**_

 _ **-To call a cat a kind of fish-**_

They audience laughed again, though the background singers who sung the 'sardine' part after Nino says it were removed, sadly.

It was a very funny part.

Since it was removed, there wasn't as much laughter as could be, though those who had never heard of the song before didn't know that so they laughed like lunatics, which was a great sight to see.

 _ **-She played hard to get-**_

 _ **-Hissing as she scratched me-**_

 _ **-What she was try'na saw was-**_

 _ **-"Ogie come and catch me"-**_

 _ **-I-**_

 _ **-Learned-**_

 _ **-Quickly-**_

 _ **-That perseverance stood-**_

 _ **-Between a cat-**_

 _ **-And her new best friend-**_

 _ **-Me-**_

This certain line makes everyone laugh for some reason, and it has not failed any of them yet, since they theatre was filled with laughter in every corner, it was a great atmosphere to be in.

Nino's friends were sure that he would get in, what with how things were going at the moment.

 _ **-Oh, I'm gonna do this right-**_

 _ **-Show you I'm not moving-**_

 _ **-Wherever you go-**_

 _ **-I won't be far to follow-**_

 _ **-Oh, I'm gonna love you so-**_

 _ **-You'll learn what I already know-**_

 _ **-I love you means you're never ever ever getting rid of me-**_

Dawn was supposed to speak in this silence, but it was a small silence and most didn't know that so there wasn't as much laughter, which was disappointing, thought Marinette.

At least they were clapping and nodding at certain points of the song, it was that good.

 _ **-Yooouu can tryyyyy-**_

 _ **-Oh, but I…-**_

Marinette, Chloe and Alya were disappointed that Cal wouldn't sing that hilarious verse, it makes them all laugh everytime.

At least Adrien seemed to be enjoying the song.

 _ **-Yooouu can tryyyyy-**_

 _ **-Oh, but I…-**_

 _ **-I love you means your never ever ever getting rid of me-**_

Everyone, and that _is_ supposed to be read as everyone, laughed like crazy when the opera voice showed up.

It was a wonderful noise and Marinette grinned happily at Adrien, who grinned back.

Then the applause kicked in and it was everywhere. Eventually, Mr. Damocles held up a hand to get the rowdy students to stop and he let Ms. Breut speak.

"Mr. Lahiffe, that was one incredible comedic number, which musical was it from? Waitress, was it?"

He nodded at the famous woman.

She smiled and continued, "I thought that your singing was wonderful, and I hope to hear it again someday in theatre. Your dancing suited the song well but it was a bit too much so I will give you a seven."

She held up the seven and then Mr. Damocles held up a seven too and told him, "I agree with everything, but it was hard to hear your voice over all of the laughter so I will be giving you a seven as well."

Etienne de Crecy then held up an eight and smiled encouragingly to the dark-haired boy.

He shuffled on his feet and her smile grew in warmth, "I thought that the dancing was a wonderful addition to the song and your singing fit the song perfectly so I will give you an eight."

He nodded with a smile and then walked nervously back to his seat.

When he got there, Alya noticed that he was shaking and decided that it was his turn to receive a kiss on the cheek.

He did and then he blushed violently as Mr. Damocles announced the next to audition.

 _ **(-Line break!-)**_

Nine more auditions had past, and the majority were horrible this time, with some of them being average or just above it.

Mr. Damocles then announced, "Next up will be Adrien Agreste- "

Gasps were heard around the theatre room, two of them coming from the celebrity judges next to the school's principal. "He will be singing _'Go the Distance'_ from Disney's _'Hercules'._ "

There was a round of applause, it was bigger than usual because of his celebrity status and for the millionth time, he wished that it didn't exist.

He walked up to the stage and the judges wanted to ask _once more,_ where he got his suit from. He was rich, like Chloe Bourgeois, the mayor's daughter, so he probably got it from a super expensive store and the suit looked like it costed hundreds of thousands of euros.

The music kicked in and Marinette gave him the thumbs up with a comforting smile and he smiled back before he started to sing.

 _ **-I have often dreamed-**_

 _ **-Of a far-off place-**_

 _ **-Where a great warm welcome-**_

 _ **-Will be waiting for me-**_

The audience widened their eyes at him singing in English. They didn't realise that their precious model knew English. Marinette had a little gut feeling that some fangirls would be attempting horribly to learn a certain language.

She sighed and shook her head. There were claps already, and his friends were getting annoyed by how people only cared about how he was famous.

Since they were his friends, they understood how he hated it, and they also got to know him so know they see him as an actual human being with feelings and likes and… y'know, human things that everyone has, including the people that worship.

His friends wished that all of the fans would just stop raving about how perfect he was, no one was perfect.

 _ **-Where the crowds will cheer-**_

 _ **-When they see my face-**_

 _ **-And a voice keeps saying-**_

 _ **-"This is where I'm meant to be"-**_

It _is_ true that he can sing very well, and he's proud of that, but his fans make it seem like he sings the best, or that he is the only person in the world who can sing, and it was really annoying.

He just kept going anyway.

It would be over soon and then maybe he'll finally be able to hear Marinette sing. He really wants that.

 _ **-I will find my way-**_

 _ **-I can go the distance-**_

 _ **-I'll be there someday-**_

 _ **-If I can be strong-**_

 _ **-I know every mile-**_

 _ **-Will be worth my while-**_

 _ **-I would go most anywhere-**_

 _ **-To feel like I belong-**_

The audience was clapping, and Adrien and his friends really hoped that the judges wouldn't be as biased as the audience, because that's just cheating and if that was the case, his friends and him would certainly be having a word with the judges after school.

They crossed their fingers and prayed as Adrien did motions with his hands to do with the words that he was singing.

 _ **-I am on my way-**_

 _ **-I can go the distance-**_

 _ **-I don't care how far-**_

 _ **-Somehow, I'll be strong-**_

 _ **-I know every mile-**_

 _ **-Will be worth my while-**_

 _ **-I would go most anywhere-**_

 _ **-To find where I belong-**_

There was a big instrumental break here, and Adrien just fidgeted where he stood as Nino, Alya and Chloe looked at him in worry.

Marinette was turned around in her seat and was glaring at the judges, hoping that they wouldn't be biased towards the celebrity.

She knew that Mr. Damocles wouldn't be, since Adrien was late once and he had a ten-minute detention, though he told his father that it was a short study session.

She sighed.

Marinette kept glaring though, and she wouldn't stop until the scores were given and Adrien came back.

 _ **-I will beat the odds-**_

 _ **-I can go the distance-**_

 _ **-I will face the world-**_

 _ **-Fearless-**_

 _ **-Proud-**_

 _ **-And strong-**_

 _ **-I will please the gods-**_

 _ **-I can go the distance-**_

 _ **-'Til I find my hero's welcome-**_

 _ **-Right, where, I, belooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong-**_

There was a huge applause at Adrien held the last note for a long time, though not as long as the actual voice actor from the movie, who held the note for at least ten second, maybe more.

He smiled at the judges and awaited their response.

Ms. Breut held up an eight and Marinette sighed quietly in relief. "Adrien Agreste, I did not know that you could sing, but quite obviously, you can."

There was a large applause for that comment. "I give you an eight for your singing skills and the overall performance was a wonderful experience."

The rest of the audience nodded ferociously and Adrien began to fidget in the spot where he was standing. Sure, he was used to the attention being on him at all times, but this was still quite unnerving.

Mr. Damocles smiled at his student before him, and gave him "A seven. You know, Mr. Agreste, that I will never be biased towards you or anyone else in this school, and you could have performed better actions. It is to be expected, of course; you are a model, not a singer, after all."

He chuckled and parts of the audience booed quietly at the score, but the majority were nodding in appreciation at his words.

Though none so as much as a certain black-haired girl.

Marinette was delighted that Adrien wasn't about to be judged only on his celebrity status. She assumed that the other two judges would, but so far, Adrien was receiving similar scores to her other friends, and that's when Marinette realised with a jolt that she would be the last of her friends to be auditioning.

She really didn't want to be an embarrassment, and she vowed to herself, right then and there, in the middle of Adrien's judging, that she would try her very best to pass the contest.

If not for her, then for Adrien, right? What other reason would she need?

She nodded slightly in determination as the last of the three judges gave her vote, "That was an absolute wonder of a performance, Mr. Agreste. I do hope that we will be seeing much more of you in the future. For now, though, I give you a nine!"

About two thirds of the audience cheered wildly at this. The scored that Adrien received meant that he was in first place, and his fans were elated at the news.

The remaining third, however, was slightly more tense. Part of the crowd was upset that they weren't in first, though they knew so already. Adrien's friends were upset that he was getting treated differently just because of his background.

Marinette turned once more to face the front and her hands were clenched in fury at the unfairness of the judges.

She would just have to prove them wrong.

Adrien made his way down to sit next to Marinette, and when she realised that he was next to her, she turned to him and before he could say anything, she enveloped him in a massive hug. The height difference meant that she could bury her face into his shoulder.

She felt him stiffen at first, but then he wrapped his arms around her and smiled cheekily at the fact that he was hugging the girl that he liked. Well… one of the girls he liked, anyway.

Their friends were too busy complaining about the judges that they didn't realise that the two members of their favourite ship were quite literally hugging each other with a fondness that they though unreachable with Marinette's stuttering habits and Adrien's reserved public manner.

Oh well, there would be plenty of chances to see the two dorks in the future, after all.

 **A/N: And that's it for today, folks!**

 **I don't know why I said it like that but I sure did! (and now read the last two sentences as if I was from Alabama! ;D )**

 **My mom and I do this…** _ **thing**_ **(?) where one of us accidentally says something in a slight Alabaman accent and the other just joins in and then we see who can last the longest, it's quite fun! It's weird though, we are very much from Western Europe, and I've never visited America or the U.S.A., though I'd like to eventually, maybe in 4-8 years? ( ;D ) Still, I don't know where this game we play came from but it's just one of those things you don't question, y'know?**

 **Anyways, sorry! You won't get to hear Mari sing today (you wouldn't have** _ **heard**_ **her anyway, you'd have** _ **read**_ **her sing)!**

 **I already listed all of the songs in previous chapters, but I'll list them here as well, so here you go:**

' _ **I Wonder'**_ **from Disney's** _ **'Sleeping Beauty'**_

' _ **Colours of the Wind'**_ **from Disney's** _ **'Pocahontas'**_

' _ **Never Ever Ever Getting Rid of Me'**_ **from a Broadway show called** _ **'Waitress'**_

' _ **Go the Distance'**_ **from Disney's** _ **'Hercules'**_

 **Well, that's all for now, I guess you'll just have to wait until next week for Mari's audition!**

 **Enjoy! (Ahhhhhh, don't you just** _ **love**_ **cliffhangers? :D)**


	12. Monday - Part 3

_**Chapter 12:**_ _ **(3439 words)**_

After a couple of more average performances, Marinette was called up.

The moment she stood up, the judges were already noting down her dress as something that they wanted to talk about with her at the end. _'Honestly',_ all three judges thought, most likely, _'all these children must be filthy rich! What is it with these kids?'_

She was so nervous that she couldn't even listen to what Mr. Damocles was telling the audience about her.

She reached the stage, and turned to look at her friends. In those four people, she saw happiness, freedom, and a future. She realised then that she loved those people to bits. Yes, even Chloe. What could she say? The blonde had grown on her.

The music began to play, and the moment she had seen Adrien's overwhelmingly comforting and enthusiastic grin ( _'his Chat Noir grin,'_ she noted with a roll of her eyes)she knew that she would be fine. She gave him a quick smile and began to work her magic.

No, not her Miraculous Ladybug powers, but her incredible singing talent.

 _ **-Make it work-**_

 _ **-Make it easy-**_

 _ **-Make it clever-**_

 _ **-Craft it into pieces-**_

It was barely twenty seconds into the song and the entire musical theatre was silent.

Her English was perfect, and the judges didn't ignore said fact. To say that they were surprised would be an understatement.

Adrien was worried that everyone thought that the sassy girl, someone who he was quickly thinking of as his best friend, along with Ladybug and Nino, was a horrible singer, though to think of such thing would be idiotic. She sang like an angel, and he was half certain that she was one. He cared about her, whether he wanted to or not. And that was a stupid thought because _of course_ he did! How could you not? That girl was like rainbows and sunshine.

He turned around to see if the judges' facial expressions could tell him about anything. Marinette had started to dance along to the lyrics, and if it was anything like he remembered, it was more professional than professionals.

The judges actually seemed shocked to the core, and Adrien smirked at them, delighted that his friend could do something so moving and powerful. He turned back to look at the graceful girl.

He wasn't missing any of this.

 _ **-Make it sweet-**_

 _ **-Crimp the edges-**_

 _ **-Or make it sour-**_

 _ **-And serve with lemon wedges-**_

 _ **-Even doubt-**_

 _ **-Can be delicious-**_

 _ **-And it washes off of all the dirty dishes-**_

At this part of the song, Marinette mimed along to washing dirty dishes.

She caught a glimpse of Adrien's proud smile and she fought hard to keep the grin of her face, though she made sure that her eyes sparkled with mischief and amusement, so that he would know that she saw.

She continued with the song, unsure of the judges' reaction.

 _ **-When it's done-**_

 _ **-I can smile-**_

 _ **-It's on someone else's plate for a while-**_

The audience wasn't expecting the sheer talent of the unknown girl.

At the back of the room, the three judges were trying to remember if they ever saw the girl before. Well, Mr. Damocles knew here, of course, though not personally. He wasn't expecting this from her, though!

The theatre was still deathly silent, other than Marinette's enchanting voice, anyway.

 _ **-I'll place it on display-**_

 _ **-And then I'll slice and-**_

 _ **-Serve my worries away-**_

A slight Southern accent escaped the girl's lips, rendering the theatre to an entirely new level of silence. Sure, it was deathly quiet before, but friends were muttering in the ears of their neighbours, and the silent hall was slowly becoming louder.

Adrien, along with the rest of Marinette's close friends, smirked triumphantly at the silence of the hall, certain that she was going to get through. The blonde-haired boy closed his eyes and thought of when he first heard her sing this song.

If he remembered correctly, the audience was once again, in for a pleasant surprise.

 _ **-I can fix this-**_

 _ **-IIII can twist it into-**_

 _ **-Sugar-**_

 _ **-Butter-**_

 _ **-Covered pieces-**_

 _ **-Never mind what's underneath it-**_

Some parts of the audience smiled at the sweet and truthful lines the black-haired girl was singing, though the majority of them gasped silently as Marinette became more involved in the dancing, and her voice was incredible.

Her friends, Adrien most of all, were certain that their close friend could beat most famous singers in a singing contest, and all of them if it was a rap battle! That's right, they heard her that Wednesday, as she sang along to the incredibly difficult rapping parts during Hamilton. ( _Lafayette!_ )

 _ **-III have done it before-**_

 _ **-I'll bake me a door-**_

 _ **-To help me get through-**_

 _ **-I learned that from you-**_

 _ **-Mama it's amazing-**_

 _ **-What baking can dooooooooooo-**_

The only noise in the theatre at this point was Marinette's velvety voice (seriously, Adrien thought that he could wrap himself in her voice and it would feel all velvety and smooth) and the judges hushed whispers at the back.

They looked to be deep in thought as the girl before them continued with the song.

 _ **-Make it up-**_

 _ **-And surprise them-**_

 _ **-Tell them all my secrets-**_

 _ **-But disguise them-**_

 _ **-So they dance-**_

 _ **-On the tongues-**_

 _ **-Of the very people-**_

 _ **-That they're secrets from-**_

Adrien remembered this part of the song.

He smiled despite him telling himself not to. It might seem strange or suspicious if someone saw him smiled passionately at the line about disguising secrets.

However, that made him smile all the more, and Marinette looked so happy to be on stage that he grinned happily for her.

 _ **-Make it soon-**_

 _ **-Make it better-**_

 _ **-Although better never lasts forever-**_

 _ **-I'll make it smaaaaall-**_

 _ **-So it fiiiiits-**_

 _ **-Even thiiiis-**_

 _ **-Even nooow-**_

 _ **-Even as the walls come tumbling down-**_

 _ **-Even as I can't stop remeeeembering how-**_

 _ **-Every door we ever made-**_

 _ **-We never once walked out-**_

The voices in the background were supposed to be removed, but since their voices overlap with the main singer, it was impossible to do so, but their voices were incredibly quiet, as the people that are working the music turned the volume down on those parts.

 _ **-Something I never got the chance to ask her about-**_

He could see some people crying, one in the row behind him, slightly to the left, and two more sitting next to each other near the back of the theatre. It shook him up as well, obviously.

His mother had disappeared a few months ago, but it felt like a lifetime away. He had already realised that it was likely that he would never see her or hear her warm voice ever again. He looked up to see Marinette almost crying herself, and he kicked himself mentally for not thinking about her first. He didn't know about anyone in Marinette's family leaving or passing away recently, so he wondered why she was close to tears.

The second she sat back down on the seat next to him, he would give her a big, warm bear hug. He nodded and vowed to himself that he would do whatever it takes to make her happy again.

He then realised the sheer weight of his words. _'Maybe I really do like her more than Ladybug…'_ He groaned silently and placed his head on his hands, thinking deeply about the problem at hand. _'If I want to start a relationship with Ladybug, I need to tell her that I'm Adrien, and if I want to start a relationship with Mari, I need to tell her that I'm Chat Noir… Oh, what do I do?!'_

He began to stress out and tried to focus on Marinette's soothing voice.

He doesn't need to make a decision now, all he needs to do is be there for Mari.

 _ **-So with flour on my hands-**_

 _ **-I'll show them all how-**_

 _ **-Goddamn happy I aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam-**_

He smiled, proud of her and pleased with the reaction from the rest of the theatre.

There could be gasps and shocked noises to be heard all around the group of friends. He grinned at them and looked back to see Marinette finish off the song.

 _ **-Sugar-**_

 _ **-Butter-**_

 _ **-Flour-**_

 _ **-Don't let me dooooooooown-**_

 _ **-Let's see the next amazing thing-**_

 _ **-Baking does noooooow-**_

There was a phenomenal noise throughout the theatre, and anyone outside would have thought that there was a terrifying herd of rowdy elephants to be found inside. Instead, the incredibly loud noise was rounds upon rounds of applause for a smaller than average, black-haired girl, well known for her confidence/shyness.

After about ten minutes (most likely an exaggeration), the applause died down so that the three astonished judges could finally rate how well that Marinette had done.

She was the last one to audition, and most people were going to leave, but once they heard her begin the song, they sat down right away, giving her their utmost attention. That was the power of music, after all.

Ms. Breut stood up, for the first time that evening, and smiled politely at the girl, "Well, I was certainly not expecting _that_! You sing beautifully, Marinette, you have a true gift and I am positive that the others agree with me."

She held up a number, but she hid it so that the rest of the people in theatre couldn't peek as the crowd cheered at the statement. "Your voice is an absolute treasure, your dress is brilliant, and your dancing is impeccable. Congratulations, Miss. Dupain-Cheng, you are the first person in this contest to receive a ten!"

She sat back down as the crowd cheered exceptionally noisily at the score she received, happy that their favourite entry got the best score, but still disappointed that they didn't.

Marinette's friends cheered the loudest, as they weren't held back by disappointment.

They knew perfectly well that she deserved to win the competition, and not just because of her wonderful singing voice, but also because she's so adorably clumsy, and she hasn't had the easiest run, though friends don't actually realise the extent of that phrase.

The black-haired girl did a miniature victory dance on the stage, small enough to go unnoticed unless you were paying full attention to her movements.

When the applause died down, Mr. Damocles was next to give his vote. He stood up and grinned, "I wholeheartedly agree with absolutely everything that Ms. Breut spoke of, and I have nothing more to add except congratulations, because you just received your second ten!"

He held up the number and sat back down as the applause came back louder and stronger than ever. Ms. De Crecy huffed impatiently and stood up which made the room almost silent.

"I enjoyed your music number, Miss. Dupain-Cheng," she told the trembling girl, venom in her voice, "Your dress is to die for and your dancing tells the story of the song along with the words you sing. These are all important things to have in a performance, and you have included every single one of them. The thing is, your smiling is clearly shown and singers should hide it to have access to their highest potential, so I will give you a eight. That is all."

She held up the number mentioned and sat down. There was a very small and quiet round of applause as Marinette nodded in thanks and respect. She then rushed quietly down to her friends.

When she sat down, many students had left, and Adrien gave her a massive bear bug, like he had promised himself to do. She tensed at first, like he did, but quickly recovered and hugged him tightly, needing to just be in someone's arms, and it certainly didn't hurt if it were his, they both thought. They didn't let go for a few seconds and their friends quickly noticed. Marinette tucked her head into his neck, almost in tears at the kindness that he was showing and the venom of the songwriter.

This action shocked the rest of the group, who just stared at the two. After a few seconds, Chloe joined in the hug and motioned for Alya and Nino to do so as well, which they did. The group hug lasted quite a while, all of the friends congratulating each other.

Most of the students were leaving after that sour event, but the five friends were held back by Ms. Breut and Mr. Damocles. Ms. De Crecy had left, saying that she had important business to attend to.

"You five students have the most spectacular outfits I have ever seen and I would like to know where you bought them from," Ms. Breut asked them, Mr. Damocles smiling next to her.

Marinette just blushed and hid behind Adrien, who was a few inches taller than her while Nino, Alya and Chloe smirked at each other and walked over to the two adults, leaving the blushing girl and the grinning boy back.

Chloe, having spent a lot of time with celebrities, spoke first. "Well, we didn't by them from anywhere."

She was smirking at the two teenagers standing next to her, a similar expression on each of their faces.

Mr. Damocles looked confusedly at them and raised an eyebrow whereas Ms. Breut huffed a laugh and replied, "Was it a present? Or is it a secret?"

Alya giggled and Nino chuckled cheerfully at their obliviousness, "No, madame. You see…"

"Marinette made them herself. She is rather talented with a needle, isn't she?" Alya ended, smirking with an eyebrow raised in the remaining judges' direction.

The two judges looked over to the two teenagers at the other end of the theatre conversing with each other. They looked rather involved in the conversation, their inspired outfits matching perfectly, working just as Marinette suspected them to, though not in the way she was expecting. Even from afar, Ms. Breut could tell that they were infatuated with the other, "Is that her?"

"Yes, madame," Chloe nodded in her new friend's direction, "And Adrien is talking to her."

The two judges' eyebrows shot up in surprise while Alya rolled her eyes at them and huffed, "They're friends, like we all are."

They nodded and Ms. Breut looked over, back to the two teenagers with little hearts popping out of their eyes, "They like each other, don't they?"

She smirked at the three next to her, as their and Mr. Damocles' eyebrows shot up in respect. "And how, pray tell, did you figure that out?" Nino chuckled after a few seconds of silence.

"Well, they aren't exactly hiding it very well," she replied cheekily.

The three teenagers grinned while Mr. Damocles looked confused, "What do you mean 'like each other'?"

Chloe giggled at his own obliviousness, as Alya and Nino full on chuckled at it. Ms. Breut simply smiled along with their antics. "I'm sure they mean that the two teenagers are attracted to each other, if you know what I mean?"

Mr. Damocles then owned a face of understanding, which then turned to pure embarrassment, "And how long have you known?"

Alya thought back to the beginning of the school year, "I'm pretty sure it's been about, oh, seven months for Marinette, though for Adrien, I'm not sure…"

"I teased him about it on Saturday, so it has at least been two to three days at the minimum, and why do you ask, sir?" Chloe replied when Alya couldn't. Mr. Damocles shrugged, though still in a professional way, if possible, and turned back to look at the two teens, which were making their way over to them.

Well, it was more like Adrien was dragging Marinette up to see them, and it was way too adorable to what should be legal, right?

She kept purposely tugging him back, using her 'super-strength' against his.

It was absolutely adorable as Adrien kept sending her amused and annoyed looks over his shoulder.

"Soooooo, what are you guys talking about?" he asked when he reached his friends and the two judges, his hand still holding onto her wrist as she huffed annoyedly, though she was smiling, so it was clear to see that she wasn't actually annoyed at the blonde model, who she was clearly crushing on.

Chloe grinned, "Nothing! But now that you're here… let's talk about how incredible Marinette is with sewing and designing!"

Ms. Breut nodded and smiled softly at the embarrassed teenager, who was squirming out of Adrien's wrist, very quickly becoming a hot mess. "Well, Marinette, I'm certainly impressed."

Marinette could only let out a squeak and nodded rapidly, her bluebell eyes opened wide and filled with hope. Adrien rolled his eyes and grinned while walking to stand with his amused friends to let poor Marinette deal with the judges herself. Good luck with that, all five friends found fans extremely infuriating, including the shy yet incredibly kind girl.

Alya shot him a glare, though it was still friendly, if possible, and grabbed his wrist with one hand and Nino's wrist in the other, "Okay, boys. We're out of here. Come on Chloe, Marinette."

The black-haired girl let out a silent breath that she hadn't even realised that she was holding in.

She rushed to catch up with her friends, who were already half way to the exit, though not before breathing a small, "Thank you,"to the two judges and tripping slightly about two thirds of the way to her friends, of course.

The secret superhero couldn't even believe her luck… she, she got the _best_ score! How is that even possible? Tha-that clumsy, ordinary girls really _could_ be worth something?

Oh, how she longed for such a thing.

And suddenly, as soon as she was off thinking of how magnificent it would be to be herself, to be as confident as Ladybug but without hiding behind a mask, she realised that there was a hand waving in front of her face.

And said hand was connected to an arm, which, incidentally, was connected to an amused Chloe, "Hey, Marinette? You there? Or are you still in la-la-land?"

The black-haired girl shot the blonde a glare and huffed before answering, "Don't you worry, I'm right here, sorry."

"Hey, it's okay, Mari. We're all proud of you for doing so well, y'know," she heard someone say behind her. Of course, the voice was that of Chat Noir's. One of these days, she would call Adrien her _'kitty'_ and reveal the entire fact that she knows who he is, which would definitely not be good, for their safety first of all.

She turned around quickly, her crimson dress twirling majestically around her.

On the face of her partner, right in the very emerald eyes that she had fallen in love with twice now, she could see genuine fondness and care. It might not be love, but she would take what she could for now.

Marinette smiled at Adrien, hoping to put as much affection and love as she possibly could, hoping for him to see it like she did for him, hoping for him to return said affections.

He grinned at her, and just like that, the moment was over.

Before she knew it, she and her four other friends were standing in the doorway of her parent's bakery, Alya and Nino handling their usual outfits which the five had placed on the metal bar with hangers on wheels.

"Aunt Aurélie? Are you there?" Marinette called out, the majority of her friend group raising an intrigued eyebrow, except for Adrien since he had met the energetic, fun-loving woman before.

"Marinette? Oh, you all look so incredible in your fancy dancy outfits!" she exclaimed, "And Adrien! How are you?"

Nino, Alya, and Chloe's eyes widened. If Adrien knew family friends, then he and Marinette had been spending a lot more time together than they thought. The mentioned teenager raised an eyebrow and shrugged elegantly, if possible. "I'm doing alright, I suppose," though the large dopey grin on his face said otherwise.

Aurélie sighed fondly and Marinette introduced Alya, Chloe and Nino to the family friend, and the six spent the rest of the day exchanging stories of what happened during auditions and the current akuma situations and such, none of them leaving until at least nine in the evening. Adrien had called Nathalie beforehand, of course.

Marinette was having an incredible day, how could she say otherwise; she was sitting extremely close to Adrien since four of them were trying to fit on Marinette's living room sofa at once.

She grinned, and Adrien caught it, grinning back just as brightly. Yeah, how could this day get any better?

 **A/N: Yaaayyyy! Fluffy ending to a chapter with no cliffhanger for you!**

…

 **Sort of, there's still the whole** _ **'parents are stuck in an airport'**_ **thing, but it's not that big of a deal in the story. It's just a way to get Mari and Adrien to get closer together! (** _ **;) ;)**_ **)**

 **Anyways, here's the next chapter, which I finally published just to make sure that that (why is this a thing…?) guest reviewer doesn't die of a heart attack. We can't have that now, can we?**

 **I don't really know where I'm going with this, but I will try my hardest to not let this become an abandoned story, as those make me sad. However, if the time ever comes and that happens, despite my not wanting to, I will tell you instead of just leaving you all there wondering when the next chapter will be posted. Of course, that'll hopefully never happen.**

 **Anyways, the song was, of course, my muse, my inspiration,** _ **'What Baking Can Do'**_ **from** _ **'Waitress'.**_ **I hope you like it if you ever listen to it. It took me a few tries listening to it but eventually I fell in love! 3**

 **Have a nice time period, whether it be day, night, evening, afternoon, I don't care! Also, sorry for this author's note thingy being so long, I guess I just got carried away.**

 **Enjoy! (No, seriously, enjoy your life, don't throw away your shot (finally a pun!)!)**


End file.
